Metin Cihan is on trial for allegedly “insulting a public official due to their duty” over a social media post he shared in 2020

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan on the charge of “insulting a public official due to their duty” under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) over a social media post he shared in 2020 was held on 28 April 2022 at the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance. The case was filed upon the complaint of Berat Albayrak, the former Minister of Energy and Natural Sources. 

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Cihan’s lawyer Özgür Urfa. Berat Albayrak was represented by his lawyer.

Albayrak’s lawyer requested to join the case as plaintiff and asked the court to punish Cihan for the imputed crime. Urfa, Cihan’s lawyer, stated that the journalist had left the country prior to any investigation launched against him, and argued that the elements of the imputed crime did not exist. Urfa read aloud Cihan’s contested social media post, and said, “The client has referred to himself with the expression ‘idiot’ in the post.”

Issuing an arrest warrant against Cihan, the court adjourned the trial until 18 October 2022.

Case background

In September 2016, the hacktivist collective RedHack published 20 GB of e-mails purportedly belonged to Berat Albayrak, the then Minister of Energy and Natural Sources. Among the leaked documents were order notifications about a sex toy.

In April 2020, Metin Cihan shared a post on Twitter, which read, “When Berat Albayrak’s inbox was published in 2016 on the Wikileaks, this place was fuming. With what? Not with the wire pulling, bribery or corruption and whatnot in its content, but with the purchase of a vibrating ring. It turns out we were quiet the idiots.” Soon after, a criminal lawsuit was filed against Cihan on the charge of “insulting a public official due to their duty” under Article 125/2-3-4 of the TCK.