A hero of free speech others say he is a threat to u. S. National security wiki leaks founder Julian Assange prepares to face a court in the u. K. That will decide whether you can be extradited to the United States when he could possibly spend decades in prison and killed thousands of people and caused untold misery colombian drug lords Pablo Escobar is still treated as a hero by many but now the families of his victims have found an unusual way to fight back with. Iraq thank you so much for your Company Everyone where we begin this newscast with a surprise hulet today in turkey where a court has acquitted 9 Civil Society activists accused of seeking to overthrow turkeys government in the 2013 gazey park protests many in the country expected the court to hand down a guilty verdict instead judges ordered the defendants and. Media release and as youre about to see rate here people emerging from court triumphant there were many high profile defendants in this case and they include a businessman us mon volokh and actor director mehmet bora the guese party protests began over the governments plans to redevelop a small park in central istanbul but they turned into nationwide protests against the government of then Prime Minister red chip. R 8 and for more im now joined by julia hina in istanbul who covered these events for us good to see you julia now why was this such a surprise this verdict. Well really i dont think anybody saw this coming the defendant observed as many of his journalists we were actually bracing for a tough verdict today because turkish prosecutors just recently have demanded aggravated life sentences for 3 of the defendants and long jail terms of for the others so this was the expectation in the Early Morning and then i offer a couple of hours suddenly these acquittals we heard about spontaneous celebrations that erupting inside the courthouse and outside as well and this is where we managed to talk to one of the defendants his name is john our ally he is an attorney by profession and i think this gives you a pretty good sense of just how unexpected these developments today lets listen to what he had to say this because were really surprised we thought Something Else would happen today of course were happy its important no one is being held in detention anymore because something is changing in our country so least we hope still. Look good which means were all right see him that being cautiously optimistic this is one of the defendants he mentioned that some portion of that no one is any longer in detention let me emphasize this turkish businessman also a very well known figure he was in the past doing many of projects Civil Society projects with a european institutions as well he was the only defendant behind bars and he is going to be set free today after this verdict he had to spend more than 2 years in the pretrial detention so for him his family his friends of course a huge moment off for leave the huge moment really what does this concretely mean for the opposition in turkey. Well it might give people a little hope because this really was a high profile case that has drawn huge criticism from western allies from turkeys western allies from human rights defenders around the world so this might be a small step it might send the signal that you know the government and the Justice System might not be you know continuing this this this way of trying to silence critical voices here in turkey but then there are also people who are very skeptical say this was. Politically motivated trial from the very beginning the judiciary here has been turned into political tools so the verdict that weve seen today is nothing but a political decision as well leon reporting from istanbul for you thank you very much the corona virus has claimed another Health Care Worker in china the head of a leading hospital in rwanda the epicenter of the outbreak has died after contracting do you disease while the death toll from the virus has reached almost 2000 the doctors death comes as Health Officials in china publish details of a study into 44000 cases of the virus. The report strikes a cautiously optimistic note more than 80 percent of the coronavirus cases in china have been mild with the sick and elderly most at risk beaching says the epidemic shows signs of slowing but warns that could change when people return to their daily lives. In japan the stranded cruise ship the diamond princess remains docked off yokohama with hundreds of people on board still in quarantine some expect to be evacuated soon. Left in limbo one british couple recorded this video from their cabin. Where ok we. Anxious as ever and the thing that is increasing the level of anxiety is just not knowing now the results were to be in 2. 00 to 3. 00 days weve now exceeded the 3 days. Hours later a somber message through social media both sally and david abel have tested positive for the virus. The disease is taking a toll on the global economy. Chinese communities around the world are feeling the impact of peoples anxiety through the nation of cheap junk i get that people dont want to head out because theyre scared all this is abuse reports are also very negative bias and little tingle they all say its chinas virus firing at least for china challen and areas where there are many Ethnic Chinese to scare mongering is rampant and you demand use of his money. Back in china the official outlook is optimistic but many chinese are skeptical that the government is giving the whole picture. Wiki leaks founder Julian Assange is due to face a hearing next week that will decide whether he can be extradited to the u. S. To face espionage charges while a songe is being held at a london prison while he awaits the hearing the u. S. Is seeking his extradition from the u. K. Over his alleged role in the release of classified military and diplomatic material i would see loops and 2010 it previously spent 7 years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in london in a bid to avoid extradition to sweden over weight charges all those charges have now been dropped at a year priests a press briefing earlier today wiki leaks current editor in chief says the sonship is no longer being held in solitary confinement and that his health is improving but he warned of the consequences for press freedom should be handed over to u. S. Authorities and we can as a journalist organization. The United States has no right to decide equating proper Investigative Journalism and journalism and not on National Security issues with espionage thats all. Rages and if that sort of this is allowed to go ahead its a very serious signees to a journalist all over the world while during the press briefing in london the wiki leaks editor in chief was joined by Julian Assange has legal team and they talked about the extradition hearing that is due to start next week and utopias bridget moss was there joining the sounds defense team have claimed that the case against him is part of u. S. President Donald Trumps war on journalism they have to scribe how soldier was held in isolation in a high security prison in london to the extent that corridors were being emptied before you walk through this is now ease they say and he said to be in Better Health the court case starts next week human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson expects the Legal Proceedings to last for several years i want to tell you now about some of the other stories making news around the world. Afghan president musharrafs irony has been declared the winner of septembers president ial poll following a recount and he was reelected to a 2nd term with just over 50 percent of the vote his main opponents contested Election Results and is now vowing to form his own parallel government. A jury is set to begin deliberations in the trial of disgraced movie mogul r. V. Weinstein it follows emotional testimony from many women accusing him of rape and Sexual Assault weinstein denies the charges saying any Sexual Conduct was consensual. The billionaire former mayor of new york city Mike Bloomberg is qualified to join a televised debate with other democratic president ial candidates in las vegas on wednesday bloomberg has been rising in the opinion polls thanks in part to a flood of t. V. Ads. Officials have confirmed that an outbreak of locusts in east africa has reached south sudan the invasion is especially dangerous there as half the population already faces hunger after years of civil war south sudans ministers say the locusts threaten to devastate crops theyre calling for a collective regional response. Colombian drug lord public has once was once one of the worlds most dangerous criminals in nearly 30 years after his death people continue to remand to size his lifestyle and make money out of his brutal legacy on now though as he did. Reports the families of escobar as many victims have decided to take action. Pablo escobar is everywhere in the streets and shops he grins at passers by from t. Shirts key chains and even Oil Paintings pop culture has turned the founder of the many young drug cartel into an icon an icon who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people to consult this trend is horribly painful he tells me that 30 years ago his father died in a terror attack orchestrated by the notorious drug lord. And i think nowadays the people who sell these talks are products soley motivated by the desire to make money in order to sell their contribution to the hype around this figure of a crime boss who inflicted a lot of pain on this country. As a place from 9762993 escobar ruled over a kingdom of horror fueled by assassinations kidnappings and terror attacks still some of the very colombians who once lived in fear of him now seek to profit from his legacy yes some people come in and get mad they tell me this is blasphemy and ask me why on earth are you selling this but people ask for it this is after all my livelihood if i get a request i get it printed because i run a business this is. Gonzalez and geo Colombia Colombia remembers is trying to show the grim reality behind the idolization with its latest project oddly enough its an online store selling narco merchandise or at least thats what it looks like at 1st glance. The way it works is that if you try to buy one of the products offered on the website youll encounter the story of a victim of narco terrorism in colombia a direct victim of public record. And i barely know long and i marked elena gomez and im the wife of. Deceased in one of Pablo Escobar is a tax. He said i would like to tell my husband that the life project we created together i try to do in the name of our love. And of our life project in is through mornin and through predict to you we love you forever. Gonzalo and his cofounder divied arent alone in their fight against the trivialization of escobar is dark legacy through their narco store project they found unexpected allies with very close ties to the drug lord. I mean through this you know its our intention to prioritize the victims over the products that glorify the crimes all the story of my father those products our opponents insult to the families the murder of their money and the alliance for peace unimaginable 3 decades ago 27 years after public death colombia still hasnt been able to dismantle the powerful drug industry he built banning the products that glorify narco culture should be a far easier task. Because one of our reporting from colombia on our mind of the top story that were tracking for you this hour a Turkish Court has acquitted 1000000 activists charged with trying to overthrow the government in the d. C. Park protest in istanbul 7 years ago theyre willing came as a surprise in a case that was seen as a key test for justice in turkey. Youre watching here we do is coming up next a business africa were going to zillah the rock n roll and thank you so much for spending part of your day with. Im not laughing at the germans because some of them but nice and laughing with the evil germans this deep into the german culture. You dont seem ridiculous drama j o t v its all about who you know im rachel join me for me to get funky the host. Euro. What unites. Would divide us