Journalists Doğan Ergün, Sinan Aygül sentenced; Mehmet Altan files case against judges who refused to implement top court’s judgment; new trial against Derya Okatan begins; reporter covering 10 October commemoration in Ankara threatened by police

 

Case against assailants who attacked journalist Demirağ sent to high criminal court

 

The trial of six people who assaulted Yeniçağ newspaper columnist Yavuz Selim Demirağ on 11 May 2019 began at the Ankara 54th Criminal Court of First Instance on 15 October 2021. The assailants are charged with “deliberate injury using a gun, threat and insult.”

 

A total of 22 lawyers asked to join the case to represent the assailants.

 

Demirağ’s lawyer, Erhan Tokatlı, stated that they were of the opinion that the defendants should be charged with attempted murder and therefore a decision of non-jurisdiction should be given by the court. Tokatlı requested that the file be sent to a high criminal court. The prosecutor demanded that the court reject the request. The judge accepted lawyer Tokatlı’s request and ruled to send the file to the high criminal court.

 

İleri Haber Chief Editor Doğan Ergün sentenced for “insulting” Erdoğan

 

İleri Haber Editor-in-Chief Doğan Ergün was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison for “insulting the president” (TCK 299) in a news article published in 2014.

 

The final hearing of Ergün’s trial was held at the Anadolu 45th Criminal Court of First Instance on 14 October 2021. The court deferred the sentence.

 

Ergün was on trial for a news story about the contents of an alleged conversation between then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and businessman Erdoğan Demirören, the owner of the Milliyet newspaper, in an audio recording.

 

Journalist Sinan Aygül given TL 16,000 judicial fine

 

Bitlis Journalists Association President and Bitlis News Editor-in-Chief Sinan Aygül appeared in court on 14 October 2021 for the announcement of the verdict in a case where he was charged with “terrorism propaganda” over a news article published on bitlishaber.com.tr on 1 January 2016.

 

The article in question was originally a dispatch by the now-defunct Dicle News Agency. The case against Aygül and journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç, who penned the story, was launched two years after the article was published. At the final hearing in 2018, Aygül was sentenced to a judicial fine of TL 16,660 and Oruç to 1 year and 3 months in prison. Both sentences were deferred, meaning both journalists would be subject to probation for five years.

 

This week’s hearing was held on the grounds that a sentence Aygül had been given in another case was recently upheld and became final, violating the terms of his probation. After hearing Aygül’s statement, the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court announced the previously deferred verdict and sentenced the journalist to a judicial fine of TL 16,660 for “terrorism propaganda.”

 

Case against Sonya Bayık and 12 others to continue in February

 

The fourth hearing of a trial in which Jiyan Haber editor Sonya Bayık and 12 others are charged with “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Batman 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 14 October 2021.

 

Bayık and her co-defendants were detained on 12 June 2019 during a demonstration against the flooding of the ancient town of Hasankeyf near Batman. Bayık was there to cover the demonstration.

 

Bayık did not attend the latest hearing. Lawyer İlyas Tarım requested that the footage of the police intervention targeting the demonstrators be sent to the Van Criminal Laboratory to be examined. Accepting Tarım's request, the court adjourned the trial until 10 February 2022.

 

Compensation case against Hazal Ocak adjourned until January

 

The third hearing of a compensation case filed by former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak against Cumhuriyet reporter Hazal Ocak was held at the Istanbul 8th Civil Court on 14 October 2021. Albayrak is seeking TL 200,000 in damages over Ocak’s report titled “Damat İşi Biliyor,” published on 20 January 2020.

 

Ocak stood trial on the charge of “insulting a public official” (TCK 125) over the same report and was acquitted on 27 October 2020.

 

P24 monitored this week’s hearing. Ruling to wait for the acquittal judgment rendered by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance to become final, the court adjourned the case until 8 February 2022.

 

MA reporter Mehmet Aslan’s trial to continue in December

 

The second hearing of Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Mehmet Aslan’s trial on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” on account of the reports he penned and his phone calls with his sources was held at the Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court on 14 October 2021.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, in which Aslan and his lawyer Özcan Kılıç were in attendance.

 

The presiding judge told those in attendance that the court had received the report they requested from the Istanbul Police Department. The report showed that no PKK/KCK investigation had been launched against Aslan. The court decided to wait for the submission of other requested documents and adjourned the trial until 16 December 2021.

 

Trial against Mehmet Şahin adjourned until February

 

The 10th hearing of the trial against Mehmet Şahin, a columnist for the Kurdish newspaper Xwebûn, was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 14 October 2021. Şahin is charged with “establishing and leading a terrorist organization” (TCK 220/1) in the indictment. The accusation stems from his alleged involvement in the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) between the years 2010 and 2013.

 

At the sixth hearing of the case held in December 2020, the prosecutor asked the court to convict Şahin of “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2).

 

Şahin and his lawyer Resul Temur attended this week’s hearing. The presiding judge told those in attendance that the court has received the Forensic Medicine Institute’s report on the audio recordings held as evidence against Şahin in the indictment. The report found that the voice in the recordings may belong to Şahin.

 

The prosecutor then reiterated their final opinion, seeking conviction for Şahin.

 

Şahin and his lawyer requested a continuance to examine the Forensic Medicine Institute’s report. The court granted Şahin and his lawyer additional time to prepare their statements in response to the report. Also ruling to ask the Diyarbakır Police Department to send a copy of the testimony of secret witness “Cesur Yürek” to the court and to hear the secret witnesses “Kaplan” and “Cesur Yürek,” the court set 3 February 2022 as the date for the next hearing.

 

“Propaganda” case against Hayko Bağdat to continue in January

 

The trial against journalist Hayko Bağdat on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” due to his social media posts continued at the Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court on 14 October 2021. Accepting the letters of excuse submitted by Bağdat’s lawyers, the court adjourned the case until 27 January 2022.

 

Mehmet Altan files case against judges who refused to implement top court judgments

 

A case filed by academic and writer Mehmet Altan against judges who refused to implement the Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments concerning his individual applications in 2018 got underway in Ankara on 13 October 2021.

 

The 4th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals is overseeing the case Altan filed against the former judges of the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court (presiding judge Kemal Selçuk Yalçın and judge Mehmet Akif Ayaz) and the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court (presiding judge Orkun Dağ and judge Seval Alaçam) for refusing to implement the top courts’ judgments.

 

The case was filed with the 4th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals since Dağ was appointed a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals despite his failure to implement judgments by higher courts and the complaints against him.

 

The lawyer representing the Ministry of Treasury and Finance argued that the case was filed after the expiry of the statute of limitations and demanded that the case be dismissed. The judge decided that the file be handed over to the panel following the preliminary examination and that the issue of statute of limitations would be decided on by the panel. The next hearing of the case will be held on 21 December 2021.

 

A report on the hearing can be accessed here.

 

Prosecutor’s final opinion expected in trial of five journalists who covered 2019 protest in Mardin

 

The second hearing of a trial in which Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporters Ahmet Kanbal and Mehmet Şah Oruç, JinNews reporter Rojda Aydın and journalists Nurcan Yalçın and Halime Parlak are accused of “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations No. 2911” was held at the Mardin 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 October 2021.

All five journalists were taken into custody on 20 August 2019 in Mardin as they were covering demonstrations in protest of the government’s removal of the city’s mayor. They were released six days later.

 

An investigation launched against the five journalists and three protesters on the allegations of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terrorism propaganda" was dismissed by the prosecution, which later charged all eight with “participating in an illegal demonstration without weapons and refusing to disperse despite a warning.”

 

The journalists’ lawyers asked the court to acquit their clients as they were on trial for covering the protests as press members. In its interim ruling, the court decided to grant a continuance to the prosecutor who has been temporarily appointed to the case to prepare his final opinion and adjourned the trial until 20 October 2021.

 

Derya Okatan appears in court on “propaganda” charge

 

The first hearing of a trial in which journalist Derya Okatan is charged with “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on 13 October 2021. Okatan is on trial for news reports shared on Etkin News Agency’s (ETHA) Facebook and Twitter accounts during the time when she was the responsible managing editor of the news agency.

 

After hearing Okatan and her lawyer’s statements, the court decided to ask the Istanbul 29th High Criminal Court whether the present case should be merged with the “RedHack trial,” in which Okatan is one of six journalists on trial, and adjourned the case until 26 January 2022.

 

A report on the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.

 

Journalist Hayri Demir’s trial to continue in December

 

The ninth hearing of journalist Hayri Demir’s trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” on account of his journalistic activities was held at the Ankara 15th High Criminal Court on 12 October 2021.

 

Demir attended the hearing. His lawyer, Nuray Özdoğan, submitted a letter of excuse.

 

Addressing the court during the hearing, Demir said the travel ban imposed on him since 2017 has turned into a punishment and asked the court to lift his ban. Noting that the only evidence in the file were his news reports, Demir submitted to the court the printouts of news articles published on various news outlets featuring his news photography that are held as evidence against him in the case file.

 

The presiding judge did not accept the printouts Demir presented and said they should be submitted to the court annexed to a petition. Rejecting Demir’s request for his travel ban to be lifted, the court adjourned the case until 21 December 2021.

 

İsminaz Temel and Havva Cuştan’s trial adjourned once again

 

A trial in which Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor İsminaz Temel and reporter Havva Çuştan are among 23 defendants charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” resumed at the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court on 12 October 2021. This was the 14th hearing in the case.

 

Temel and her co-defendants Özlem Gümüştaş, the co-chair of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), and Lawyer Sezin Uçar as well as defense lawyers were in attendance.

 

The presiding judge announced during the hearing that a new indictment had been issued against Gümüştaş and merged with the ongoing case.

 

Gümüştaş told the court that the new indictment was based on a tip-off about an event organized in Balıkesir province by the Socialist Women's Council (SKM). Explaining that she did not know the person who made the tipoff, Gümüştaş said the allegations were baseless and requested that the identity of the “whistleblower” be determined.

 

The court asked Gümüştaş to make a statement concerning her social media posts. Her lawyer Arzu Eylem Kayaoğlu told the court that they have not been able to examine the posts in question and said they will make their statement after reviewing the new file. Gümüştaş and her lawyer requested that the court lift the judicial control measures.

 

Sezin Uçar addressed the court next, also demanding the lifting of the judicial control measures since they have been preventing her from exercising her profession. İsminaz Temel also requested the lifting of judicial control measures.

 

Ruling for the continuation of the judicial control measures as requested by the prosecutor, the court adjourned the case until 15 February 2022.

 

Journalist Roza Metina acquitted, prosecutor appeals judgment

 

The final hearing of Jin News editor and Kurdish PEN member Roza Metina’s trial on charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2) was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 12 October 2021.

 

In their final opinion submitted to the court during the previous hearing, the prosecutor claimed that Metina was a “DTK delegate” and requested that the court convict her as charged.

 

The court ruled for Metina’s acquittal on the grounds that the alleged crime was not committed by the journalist. The prosecution appealed against the trial court’s judgment with the regional court of justice the same day.

 

A report on the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.

 

Ruşen Takva acquitted at his second hearing

 

The second hearing of journalist Ruşen Takva’s trial on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” for covering a demonstration held in Van province in January was held at the Van 2nd High Criminal Court on 12 October 2021.

 

Presenting his final opinion, the prosecutor demanded that Takva be acquitted, stating that Takva was there as a journalist and therefore there was not sufficient evidence proving the alleged crime.

 

Ruling in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court ruled for Takva’s acquittal because the elements of the alleged crime did not occur.

 

A report on the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.

 

Journalist Rojda Oğuz’s trial adjourned until January

 

The fourth hearing of the case in which journalist Rojda Oğuz is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Van 5th High Criminal Court on 12 October 2021.

 

Oğuz, who lives abroad, did not attend the hearing. Her lawyer Hüseyin Boğatekin attended the hearing from Istanbul via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS. The court heard the statements of some of the other defendants in the case. Ruling to wait for the submission of requested documents, the court postponed the case until 13 January 2022.

 

Oğuz was detained on 8 January 2016 on the grounds that she participated in protest marches organized by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University students on different dates. She was released pending trial after spending four months behind bars.

 

New case against Cumhuriyet journalists gets underway

 

A new criminal case was launched against Cumhuriyet newspaper news coordinator Serkan Ozan, responsible managing editor Olcay Büyüktaş Akça, website responsible news director Ozan Yurtoğlu and reporter Hazal Ocak upon a complaint by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son, Bilal Erdoğan.

 

The journalists are charged with “insult” and “libel” for two news articles titled “Bilal Erdoğan’ın şanslı arkadaşı” (Bilal Erdoğan’s lucky friend) and “Arkadaş ihale zengini” (Friend made rich through tenders). The first hearing of the trial was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 12 October 2021. After hearing the statements of all four journalists, the court adjourned the case until a later date.

 

Journalist Hatice Şahin’s trial on “terror” charge adjourned until January

 

The sixth hearing of the trial against journalist Hatice Şahin, a reporter for Yeni Yaşam newspaper, on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court on 11 October 2021.

 

Şahin was among 145 individuals, including journalists, taken into custody in October 2018 in Diyarbakır as part of an investigation against the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). She was subsequently released pending trial. The journalist is accused based on statements by secret witnesses, the phone calls she made with her colleagues and her sources, and the tickets for her flights between Diyarbakır and Istanbul.

 

The court decided to wait for the submission of a copy of the statement by Derya Aslan, who is on trial in a different case, and set 26 January 2022 as the date for the next hearing.

 

A report on the hearing, followed by P24, can be accessed here.

 

Journalist covering commemoration in Ankara threatened by police

 

ANKA news agency reporter Tamer Arda Erşin, who was covering the commemoration planned to be held in front of the Ankara Train Station on the anniversary of the 10 October Ankara attack, was threatened by a police officer.

 

Recounting the incident later, Erşin said that the police prevented him and other journalists who were there to cover the police intervention in the crowd who wanted to participate in the commemoration. The journalist said he then asked another police officer’s help on how to access the area where the commemoration would be held. A plainclothes policeman who came running while Erşin was talking to the other officer insulted and threatened the journalist and told him: “I will cut you into four pieces!”

 

At least 59 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 15 October 2021, at least 59 journalists and media workers are in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

 

The full list can be accessed here.