Expression Interrupted

Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

EXPERT OPINION | "Membership in a terrorist organization" case against journalist Mehmet Aslan

EXPERT OPINION |

The expert opinion, penned by lawyer Benan Molu, analyzes the case against journalist Mehmet Aslan in light of international and European human rights law

Punto24 Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) has prepared an expert opinion on the case filed against journalist Mehmet Aslan on charges of “membership in an armed terrorist organization” under Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Prepared at the request of Aslan’s lawyer, Habat Demircan, the expert opinion was written by Benan Molu, a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association No. 1 and who specializes in European human rights law and the law of individual application to the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Aslan is a reporter for Mezopotamya News Agency (MA). He is on trial alongside fellow journalists Esra Solin Dal and Erdoğan Alayumat in the case, filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in May 2024. All three journalists, arrested on 26 April 2024 as part of the investigation that was launched in 2022, were released pending trial on 21 May 2024 upon the indictment against them being accepted by the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court.

The indictment, issued on 8 May 2024, cites 41 news articles Aslan penned between June 2021 and February 2024 and posts he shared on his Twitter (X) account on 15 February 2022 as evidence for the accusation.

The indictment argues that MA “reported news under the guidance of the PKK” and that Aslan frequently used expressions such as “Abdullah Öcalan, solitary confinement, physical freedom” in his news reports.

The first hearing of the case was held on 15 October 2024 at Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court. The court granted Aslan time to prepare an additional defense statement due to the possibility that he may be charged with “terrorism propaganda” under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) and decided to lift the judicial control measures imposed on the journalist. The second hearing of the case is scheduled for 11 February 2025.

Stating that the judiciary in Turkey interpret the concept of “membership in a terrorist organization” too broadly, the expert opinion recalls that in order to issue a prison sentence under Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code judicial authorities need to check whether the act held as criminal evidence involves continuity, diversity and intensity and whether it is carried out under a certain hierarchical structure. The expert opinion states that in Aslan’s case, the way Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code is interpreted and applied does not meet the elements of the crime and that Aslan’s news articles, which fall within the scope of the freedom of expression and press freedom, do not meet the conditions required by the law.

“The indictment does not show that the conditions required for the offense set out in Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code have been met. In his statement, Aslan stated that he had written 501 news reports in two years, but that 41 of these had been specifically selected. It is not possible to make a concrete assessment in this respect since the indictment only includes the headlines of the news reports and not the expressions in the content of the news reports. However, even though the expressions used in the content of the news articles are critical and unpleasant, according to the case-law of the ECtHR, since they do not incite hatred and violence and do not contain hate speech, they fall within the scope of statements of opinion made for the purpose of criticism and are therefore protected within the scope of freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” the expert opinion states.

“The investigation against Aslan was initiated in 2022. Based on 41 news articles published between 18 June 2021 and 17 February 2024, a majority of which were from 2023, a detention order was issued for Aslan on 23 April 2024, and he was arrested on 26 April 2024. The indictment was issued on 8 May 2024. Approximately three years elapsed between the launching of the investigation and Aslan’s detention and arrest based on news articles already available on the internet. … Given the time that has elapsed, it cannot be said that the interference with freedom of expression and press freedom meets an urgent social need or is necessary in a democratic society.

“Aslan was arrested on the basis of evidence lacking reasonable suspicion, lacking relevant and sufficient grounds, and under an article of the law that does not meet the requirement of legality.Although the case was filed on the charge of ‘membership of a terrorist organization,’ an additional defense statement was requested on the charge of ‘terrorism propaganda.’ The above-mentioned assessments also apply to the crime of ‘making propaganda for an illegal organization’ and it cannot be said that a prison sentence under these charges would be necessary and proportionate in a democratic society.


P24 is of the opinion that a possible prison sentence for Aslan, who is believed to have been subjected to judicial harassment due to his reporting and for exercising his freedom of expression and press freedom, may violate the freedom of expression and press freedom safeguarded in the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the prohibition on restricting these rights and freedoms for political reasons,” the expert opinion concludes.

The full text of the expert opinion (in Turkish) is available here

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