The retrial of journalists Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Ünal Tanık, Yakup Çetin and Yetkin Yıldız will continue in June

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The fourth hearing of the retrial of journalists Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Ünal Tanık, Yakup Çetin, Yetkin Yıldız and musician Atilla Taş, who was a newspaper columnist between 2015 and 2016, was held at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court on 17 February 2022.

All eight were convicted in 2018 in the case publicly known as the “FETÖ media trial,” in which 26 defendants faced “terror” charges over alleged ties with the Fethullah Gülen network. Their convictions were overturned in 2020 by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which held that Memiş, Kalyoncu, Çulhaoğlu, Tanık, Çetin and Yıldız should be charged with “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” (TCK 220/7) and that Taş, who was convicted of “aiding a terrorist organization,” should be charged with “insulting the president” (TCK 299) and “publicly degrading the institutions and organs of the state” (TCK 301).

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Ünal Tanık, Yakup Çetin and Yetkin Yıldız and their lawyers. Atilla Taş, who did not attend, was represented by his lawyer.

Taş’s lawyer Sevgi Kalan requested that the judicial control measure imposed on her client be lifted and that his file be separated.

Cemal Kalyoncu addressed the court next. Stating that his membership in the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) was based on his love for the journalism profession ever since his childhood, Kalyoncu added that he was also a member of the Association of Business Reporters of Turkey and the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC). Kalyoncu added: “The foundation was under the supervision of the state and the General Directorate of Foundations. It is also accredited to the UN. Can you imagine that when you become a member of a UN accredited foundation, you will be accused of membership of a terrorist organization? My profession is journalism.” Noting that reports by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) found no extraordinary transactions in his bank accounts, Kalyoncu said, “I am not affiliated with FETÖ. I did my job as a journalist. I demand to be acquitted.”

Ahmet Memiş told the court that the application he lodged with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding his trial has been combined with applications by 270 other individuals and merged into a pilot case. Memiş said: “The ECtHR has requested an opinion from the Turkish government concerning the application. Since it is a pilot case, I want the ECtHR’s judgment to be awaited and the government’s response to also be submitted to the trial court.”

Arguing that the judicial control measure imposed on Taş was proportional, the prosecutor asked the court to reject Taş’s lawyer’s request. The prosecutor said the decision on whether to separate Taş’s file from the rest of the defendants was at the court’s discretion.

In its interim ruling, the court decided to separate the file against Taş and adjourned the trial until 22 June 2022. The court also ruled for the continuation of the travel ban imposed on the musician.