Sjöstedt is on site to follow the trial together with Member of Parliament Ulrika Westerlund from the Green Party.
We are here because we believe that our presence will make a difference. This is a political trial, the crimes described are not crimes but examples of Joakim Medin's work as a journalist, says Westerlund in an interview with TT outside the court.
Jonas Sjöstedt says that the imprisonment of Medin is now being noticed "country by country" within the EU.
We have just gathered Swedish parliamentarians and submitted a proposal that will be voted on next week. With all likelihood, the EU Parliament will then condemn the arrest and demand that Joakim Medin be released.
Broad Support
Also present at the trial is Johan Taubert, CEO of the Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association.
This is about showing Joakim Medin our support and great commitment and the broad support that exists for him and his cause, he says.
Several who have been in the same situation have testified about the importance of seeing and feeling that one is not forgotten, he continues.
This is also about signaling to Turkish authorities that the issue is being closely monitored, he says.
Staff from the Swedish Embassy will also be present. Medin himself will not be in the courtroom. He will follow the proceedings via a link from the prison outside Istanbul where he has been detained for a month.
Medin, who was arrested at the airport in Istanbul where he had traveled to report on large protests in the country at the end of March, was charged last week with insulting the president, participating in a terrorist organization, and spreading terrorist propaganda. Today's trial concerns the charge of insulting the president.
Articles as Evidence
According to Medin's defense, he risks up to twelve years in prison. But the defense claims that the evidence consists only of articles, books, and social media posts written by Medin.
Such a trial also risks creating self-censorship among other journalists. It raises great concern about what it means to report from other countries with different legislation, says Taubert.
If Medin is convicted of a crime after today's trial, sharper action is required from the Swedish government, according to Jonas Sjöstedt and Ulrika Westerlund.
We have received fairly clear signals that if it doesn't result in an acquittal today, it's time to step up these contacts and intensity and clarity, says Westerlund.
Journalist Joakim Medin traveled to Istanbul on assignment for the newspaper Dagens ETC on March 27 to report on widespread protests in the country, after Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested earlier in the spring.
Medin, who has visited Turkey as a journalist several times but has not had problems with the authorities before, was arrested directly at the airport.
He was then transferred to the high-security prison Marmara in Silivri outside Istanbul, where many of Turkey's political prisoners are or have been held. Medin is being held on the same ward as the imprisoned mayor Imamoglu.
On April 23, he was charged with terrorist crimes and insulting the president, which can result in a total of twelve years in prison.
