The court, which rejected Tar’s lawyers’ requests to have the judicial supervision measures lifted, adjourned the case until 24 November

DENİZ NAZLIM, ANKARA

The third hearing in the case against journalist Yıldız Tar, Editor-in-Chief of KaosGL.org, and writer İbrahim Halit Elçi, who are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” as part of an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), was held at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court on 24 June 2026.

The hearing, which was monitored by P24, began approximately two hours late as the previous hearing had not concluded. The hearing took place in a very small courtroom with only 10 seats available for the public, and no more than 10 members of the public were admitted to the courtroom.

Journalist Tar was unable to attend the hearing as he had been detained during house raids carried out in Ankara on 23 June. Tar’s lawyer, Veysel Ok, pointed out that the names of members and executives participating in the HDK’s activities had been published on the organization’s own website, stating that if the congress were illegal, it would not make sense for these names to be published. Recalling that the HDK continues to carry out its activities and that people continue to participate in those, Ok stated that the state would not permit these activities to continue; therefore, the HDK is not an illegal organization.

Tar’s lawyers requested the lifting of the international travel ban and other judicial supervision measures. When the judge asked for the prosecutor’s opinion on this request, the prosecutor requested that the international travel ban and all judicial supervision measures continue in the same manner.

The court ruled that the judicial supervision measures and the international travel ban should continue. The court also ruled that should the prosecution submit its final opinion on the case between the hearings, this would be served upon the defendants and their lawyers, and adjourned the case until 24 November 2026. Should the prosecution submit its final opinion before this date, the hearing on 24 November is expected to be the final hearing.

Background of the case

As part of an investigation launched on 18 February 2025 into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress, Yıldız Tar was taken into custody, imprisoned pending trial on 21 February, and, after being held for approximately four months at Marmara Prison in Silivri, was released on 30 May 2025 with an international travel ban.