Turkish Press Review

ISTANBUL

Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Dailies on Monday mainly dedicated their front pages to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's criticism of a court decision to free two journalists accused of spying.

"I will not obey court's decision," HURRIYET's headline read, quoting Erdogan who spoke during a news conference at Ataturk International Airport ahead of a visit to West Africa.

"I keep silent [on] the decision of the Constitutional Court but do not accept or respect the decision," Erdogan said, according to daily.

Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, senior journalists at the Cumhuriyet newspaper, were released from jail on Friday after Turkey’s Constitutional Court decided their rights had been violated.

They were arrested in November over allegations including espionage, attempting to overthrow the government and supporting terrorism.

SABAH also quoted Erdogan as defining the case as "not linked to freedom of expression whatsoever".

“This is an espionage case. [...] In my opinion, [the] media should not have unlimited freedom. There is no absolute freedom anywhere in the world media as well," Erdogan said, according to paper.

Dundar, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, and Gul, its Ankara bureau chief, were arrested after the newspaper published images in May purportedly showing shells and ammunition loaded on Syria-bound trucks belonging to Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT). They had been been held on remand since their arrest.

In other news, Turkish dailies covered Interior Minister Efkan Ala's remarks that Turkey prevented 18 incidents so far this year.

Speaking in an interview with Kanal 7 TV at the weekend, Ala was referring to security measures taken before the Feb. 17 Ankara car-bomb attack that killed 29 people, mostly members of the military.

AKSAM and VATAN wrote that the minister said the security forces thwarted 18 incidents since the new year, including seizing "a bomb-laden car" in Istanbul's Bogazici University last week.

"A suspect was also detained and arrested in Istanbul’s Bosphorus area the previous day.

We are not openly revealing most of these, as we should not. We are just striving to maintain the peace of our citizens," the minister said, according to the dailies.

In international news, MILLIYET covered the preliminary results of Iran’s parliamentary election to elect members of the country’s 290-seat parliament and Assembly of Experts.

"The victory of reformists," was MILLIYET's headline. The daily said that unofficial results showed that reformists won all 30 Tehran seats.

Initial results from Tehran also suggested that Rouhani and moderate candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani were leading the race for seats in Iran’s influential Assembly of Experts.

The 88-member assembly is responsible for appointing Iran's Supreme Leader.

It was the Islamic Republic’s first such election since it signed a historic nuclear deal last July with world powers.

Official election results are expected to be announced Monday.