An Istanbul prosecutor has brought defamation charges against Turkish journalist Ahmet Şık based on a public statement the journalist made upon his release from Silivri Prison on March 12.

Dogan News Agency reported yesterday that the prosecutor is seeking a three to seven-year prison sentence on the grounds that Şık “insulted public officials” when he told a crowd outside the prison that justice would only be served when those who orchestrated his incarceration were themselves imprisoned.

The journalist, whose comments allegedly insulted some 39 prosecutors and a judge, is reportedly set to appear before a judge in two weeks.

Şık, who had been incarcerated on conspiracy charges for 375 days, was released in March along with three other journalists, including International Press Institute (IPI) World Press Freedom Hero Nedim Şener.

IPI and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), condemned the ongoing persecution of journalists in Turkey and called for the charges against Şık to be dropped immediately.

IPI’s Turkish National Committee, Basın Enstitüsü Derneği, said: “After his release, Ahmet Şık questioned his unjust incarceration and the system that allowed for it. That remarks of this kind can lead to a prosecution is absurd. We call on the authorities to halt these fanciful charges.”

Şık had originally been charged as part of the alleged “Ergenekon” plot to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He currently faces seven to 15 years in prison on charges of aiding an armed terrorist organisation in the “Oda TV” case, named for a critical news website the government claims was working to advance the Ergenekon plot. That trial, which held its most recent hearing on June 19, remains ongoing.

Şık has attributed his incarceration to his criticism of the Fethullah Gülen religious movement, famously shouting as he was detained last year: “Anyone who touches Gülen gets burnt.” The movement is named for its leader, a Turkish author, educator and Muslim scholar who fled Turkey in 1999 for Pennsylvania shortly before he was accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

Following Şık’s detention in March of 2011, authorities raided printing houses in Istanbul to seize copies of his then-unpublished book, “The Army of the Imam”, which dealt with the movement’s alleged influence within the Turkish police.

Approximately 100 journalists remain imprisoned in Turkey, most on allegations of membership in or support for illegal or terrorist organisations. A majority of those detained are from Kurdish media outlets.