The court has issued a warrant for the compulsory attendance of the plaintiff “expert S.B.” who failed to appear at the hearing. The case was postponed until 13 February

EYLEM SONBAHAR, ISTANBUL

The fourth hearing in the trial of journalists Barış Pehlivan, Suat Toktaş, Seda Selek, Kürşad Oğuz, and Serhan Asker on charges of “recording conversations between individuals” and “publishing the recorded conversations in the press” was held at the Istanbul 54th Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 January 2026. The journalists are on trial for broadcasting on Halk TV a conversation with expert S.B., whose name was revealed by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu at a press conference on 27 January 2025.

Pehlivan, Toktaş, and Oğuz, along with their defense attorneys, were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24. Selek and Asker did not attend the hearing.

At the hearing, where it was noted that the expert S.B., who had a warrant for his arrest, was not present, the judge stated that there were deficiencies in the case file and that the witness needed to be heard. Journalist Barış Pehlivan was the first to present his defense.

Pehlivan said, "I contacted the expert, who was involved in the case, purely for journalistic reasons. My intention was very clear: ‘There is an allegation against you, what do you have to say about this allegation?’ This is the most basic, most ordinary journalistic reflex, and that is all I did. If we had only voiced İmamoğlu's allegations, that would have been the real omission. We are being tried because we did good journalism. If we are in the dock because of the publication of this interview and recording, why are AKP member Hamza Dağ and former AKP Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Melih Gökçek, who shared the same recording on their accounts, not in the dock?“ he asked.

Stating that this was the first time an international travel ban had been imposed on him, Pehlivan said, ”I have not been able to see my daughter, who has been living in Italy for a year. Am I going to flee because of this case? I request that the judicial control measure be lifted.”

Following Pehlivan, his lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner made his statement. Ermaner said, ”We are facing a case where the conditions for an investigation have not been met. This case should be dismissed. The case is dragging on because the plaintiff's statement has not been taken,” requesting that the judicial control measures be lifted for all defendants.

”We were just doing journalism“

Beginning his defense by emphasizing that the defendant in this case was journalism itself, Oğuz said, ”We had no political agenda, we were just doing journalism.”

“No matter how you look at this incident, it is clearly a journalistic activity and should be considered a matter of press freedom,” said Oğuz's lawyer, Beliz Özkan, adding that the judicial control measure should be lifted. Özkan said, "In fact, we have been punished in this case without being sentenced. Most of my client's work is abroad, but he has not been able to leave the country for a year. He is being punished without being sentenced.”

In his defense, journalist Toktaş said, ”I have been a journalist for 38 years, and today we are being tried for a very basic act of journalism. To be clear, this situation itself has already turned into a serious punishment. The subject of the trial is an ‘unauthorized’ audio recording. However, the case file presents a very clear picture. When the plaintiff is called, the caller identifies which institution they are calling from, their name is stated, and a conversation takes place. They also have the option to end the conversation at any point. All of this is present in the case file. Despite this, it is referred to as an ‘unauthorized’ audio recording. I would also like to remind you that he spoke to the Yeni Şafak newspaper on the same day. The interview appeared in the printed newspaper the next day. So, there is clearly a willingness to talk and explain. It is not just a case of talking to us," he said.

Emphasizing that they have been effectively punished for a year, Toktaş concluded his defense by requesting that the ban on leaving the country be lifted. Suat Toktaş's lawyer, Serhat Çetin, said, “The plaintiff is doing everything he can to avoid coming to the hearing. We want the judicial control to be lifted. You must hear the plaintiff. That is my only request. I request that you issue an interim decision in this regard.”

Seda Selek's lawyer, Buse Şahin, also requested that her client's travel ban be lifted.

The prosecutor requested that the missing issues in the file be resolved and that the court decide to continue the judicial control measures.

The court decided to lift the ban on the defendants leaving the country. The court also decided to bring the plaintiff in by force and postponed the case until 13 February 2026.

Background of the case

At a press conference held on 27 January 2025, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu stated that S.B. was the expert in certain investigations concerning Beşiktaş, Esenyurt municipalities, and himself. Journalist Barış Pehlivan was initially detained on the grounds that a recording of a phone conversation with the expert named by İmamoğlu was broadcast on Halk TV. Subsequently, Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş, Halk TV Coordinator Kürşad Oğuz, Halk TV presenter Seda Selek, and Halk TV Managing Director Serhan Asker were also detained. While the four journalists were released, Suat Toktaş was placed in pre-trial detention. Upon completion of the investigation, an indictment was filed, and the first hearing was scheduled for 4 March 2025.

Journalists Barış Pehlivan and Kürşad Oğuz were charged with “recording private conversations between individuals,” “influencing a person performing judicial duties,” and “publishing the recorded conversations in the press” while Suat Toktaş, Seda Selek, and Serhan Asker were charged with “publishing the recorded conversations in the press and media” and “influencing a judicial officer.”

At the  end of the first hearing, the court decided to release journalist Toktaş, who had been detained since 30 January 2025.