Ahmet Altan was the editor-in-chief of the Taraf Newspaper, which was shut down by a presidential decree on July 28, 2016. He began his journalism career in 1974. He has been in prison since Sept. 23, 2016. He received an aggravated life sentence in “the FETÖ Media Main Trial.” The Court of Appeal confirmed the verdict, however, the Court of Cassation reversed it. He was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months imprisonment for the crime of “knowingly and willingly aiding an organisation without being a member.” The time he had already served was taken into consideration and he was released at November 4th, 2019.