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"Turkey's regime not only smuggled guns into Syria, it used 'state security' as an excuse to imprison the journalists who reported it," Dündar wrote in an opinion he penned for The Guardian from prison.Dündar and Cumhuriyet's Ankara representative Erdem Gül were arrested in late November on charges of being members of a terrorist organization, espionage and revealing confidential documents -- charges that could see them spend life in prison. Dündar and Gül were arrested as part of a terrorism investigation that was launched after Cumhuriyet published photos in May of weapons that it said were transferred to Syria in trucks operated by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).In his article published in The Guardian, Dündar said Erdoğan "was in a fix" after the daily published its report. "He couldn't refute the story, so instead chose to censor the publication and threaten the journalist responsible, who was me."Dündar said as if to confirm that this was not the state's secret but his secret, Erdoğan filed a personal complaint to the prosecutor's office.Dündar said. "Thus I defend myself with Winston Churchill's words: 'The Official Secrets Act was devised to protect the national defence ... and ought not to be used to shield ministers who have a strong personal interest in concealing the truth'." Dündar wrote.In a defense statement made in court, Dündar earlier said his detention was based on false accusations and that"I would publish [the reports] again. I am happy that the public learned of this [arms shipment]. The president came to a point of acknowledging the claims when he said the other day, 'So what if the trucks were filled with weapons?' His words openly contradict the allegations that the photos we published were fabricated. He admitted this. I believe this, by itself, is enough for the charges directed at us to be dropped. If Erdoğan says, 'So what if the trucks were filled with weapons?' then I say, so what if we published it?" Dündar said during his statement.After the Cumhuriyet daily published images from video footage proving the trucks were filled with weapons and ammunition, despite the government having claimed that they only carried humanitarian aid, President Erdoğan denied the weapons were for the opposition groups fighting against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The government has claimed the cargo was to be delivered to Syrian Turkmens, who have looked to Turkey for support after being caught in the civil war between Assad and opposition groups."As a journalist, it was my duty to show this reality to people. I think we also saved the government from making a big mistake. We have seen many times that the state can act illegally. ... We opposed this and helped the state evolve into a clearer and more transparent one," Dündar added.