The Supreme Court of Appeals has overturned the convictions of Fevzi Yazıcı and Yakup Şimşek, who had been imprisoned since 2016 for “membership in a terrorist organization”

The General Criminal Board of the Supreme Court of Appeals has overturned the convictions of Zaman newspaper’s former visual director Fevzi Yazıcı and brand marketing director Yakup Şimşek, as well as former Police Academy lecturer Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül, who died from a heart attack while being kept at Silivri Prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” on the grounds that their “right to defense had been violated and the judgment was based on insufficient investigation.”

The Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the judgment on 8 December 2022 and returned the case file to the court of first instance.

The İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court filed a preliminary proceedings report regarding the decision to overturn on 2 March 2023 and ruled to release Yazıcı and Şimşek. The court also ruled to rightfully release Özşengül for time served and separated the case file for Özşengül, who passed away in prison on 30 July 2022. The first hearing in the re-trial of Fevzi Yazıcı and Yakup Şimşek, along with Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak will be held on 13 June 2023.

The duration of the execution of the sentences of Şimşek and Yazıcı, who had been imprisoned since 2016 and were each sentenced to 11 years and 3 months of imprisonment, was expected to expire in June 2023.

Background of the case

At the final hearing of what is commonly referred to as the “Altans Case” on 16 February 2018, Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, former visual director of the shut-down Zaman newspaper Fevzi Yazıcı, the newspaper’s brand marketing director Yakup Şimşek and former Police Academy lecturer Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for the offense of “attempting to destroy the constitutional order” on the accusation that they had “known about the coup attempt of 15 July in advance.”

The 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation which examined the appeal against the ruling had overturned the decision for Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak on 14 April 2021, but approved the sentencing of Şimşek, Özşengül and Yazıcı.

In a letter of notification presented on 29 April 2021, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals requested overturning the judgment for Yazıcı, Şimşek and Özşengül.

The prosecutor’s notification stated that the right to defense had been violated due to the defendants and their counsel not being notified of the final opinion on the case for the re-trial within the period established by the Penal Code Procedure; the final opinion of the prosecution not being read out to the defendants and their counsel present at the final hearing on 4 November 2019, four days after the opinion was added to the case file in writing; and the reading out of the opinion not being entered into the hearing minutes.

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals partially accepted the request of the prosecutor’s office and the case was sent on to the General Penal Board of Supreme Court of Appeals on 12 April 2022.

Fevzi Yazıcı’s lawyer Mesut Yazıcı pointed out that the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the decision for the violation of the right to defense and that it had been examining the case since April 2022. Lawyer Yazıcı said that the duration of the execution of the sentences of Şimşek and Yazıcı, would expire in June 2023.