Prosecutor demands sentence for video activist Oktay İnce; Mehmet Baransu’s request for recusal of judges in “Taraf trial” rejected; journalist Vedat Örüç sentenced for “propaganda”; ECtHR rules “insulting the president” sentence violated freedom of expression

 

Journalist Fırat Fıstık faces investigation

 

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against Gerçek Gündem reporter Fırat Fıstık for his 6 October 2021 report, which revealed that Boğaziçi University’s newly appointed Rector Prof. Naci İnci reported students who participated in protests on the school campus to the police.

 

Fıstık was recently summoned to the prosecutor’s office to give his statement in response to allegations of “illegally obtaining personal data,” “illegally disclosing personal data,” “disturbing a person’s peace and harmony” and “libel” as part of the investigation. Separately, the Istanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued an access ban on Fıstık’s report.

 

Investigation launched against Tele1 TV’s Begümhan Aydoğan

 

An investigation was launched against Tele1 TV news presenter Begümhan Aydoğan for a recent broadcast in which allegations that “members of the religious cult Menzil have been gaining influence in the Gendarmerie Coast Guard Academy” were discussed. Announcing the investigation on her Twitter account on 22 October 2021, Aydoğan stated that the investigation was initiated upon a complaint by the Gendarmerie General Command.

 

Twitter user sentenced for “publicly degrading men”

 

Pınar Yıldırım, a Twitter user who uses the nickname “Pucca,” was sentenced to 5 months and 18 days in prison for “publicly degrading a section of the public on grounds of social class, race, religion, sect, gender or regional differences” (TCK 216/2) in a Twitter post in which she wrote: “I watched so many gay TV shows, movies, but no, I still like the vile, nondescript gender called men.”

 

Arrest warrant issued for Ferhat Tunç in “insult” case

 

The fourth hearing of a trial in which exiled musician and activist Ferhat Tunç is charged with “insulting a public official” (TCK 125) on account of a Twitter post about former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was held at Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece 16th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 October 2021. Tunç’s lawyer was in attendance. The court decided to issue an arrest warrant for Tunç in order to hear his defense statement and adjourned the trial until 17 March 2022.

 

Trial of journalists who reported on torture allegations to continue in January

 

The third hearing of the trial against Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporters Adnan Bilen, Cemil Uğur and Zeynep Durgut, Jin News reporter Şehriban Abi and freelance journalist Nazan Sala on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” under Article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was held at the Van 5th High Criminal Court on 21 October 2021.

 

News reports penned by the journalists are held as evidence for the accusation in the indictment, which alleges that the media outlets the journalists work for have been “publishing provocative content against the state.” Sala is additionally charged with “terrorism propaganda” for her social media posts.

 

The court decided to lift the judicial control measures imposed on all five journalists but denied the return of their equipment. Also ruling to inquire about the outcome of a separate investigation against Sala, the court adjourned the trial until 6 January 2022.

 

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

 

Case against Rüstem Batum to continue in January

 

Journalist and TV talk show host Rüstem Batum’s trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299) continued at the Istanbul 41st Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 October 2021. Accepting letters of excuse submitted by Batum’s lawyers, the court adjourned the case until 11 January 2022.

 

Five journalists on trial for covering protest in Mardin acquitted

 

The third hearing of a trial in which Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporters Ahmet Kanbal and Mehmet Şah Oruç, JinNews reporter Rojda Aydın and freelance journalists Nurcan Yalçın and Halime Parlak were accused of “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Mardin 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 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 allegations of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was dismissed by the prosecutor’s office, which later charged all eight with “participating in an illegal demonstration without weapons and refusing to disperse despite a warning.”

 

Ruling in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion, submitted to the court on 18 October, the court acquitted all eight defendants on the grounds that there was no definitive and convincing evidence that they had committed the alleged crime.

 

Journalist Vedat Örüç sentenced for “propaganda”

 

The final hearing of a case in which journalist Vedat Örüç was charged with “terrorism propaganda” (TMK 7/2) was held at the Kocaeli 5th High Criminal Court on 20 October 2021. Örüç was on trial for social media posts he shared on Turkey’s 2019 military operation “Peace Spring” in Syria and materials seized during a police raid on his home.

 

Örüç and his lawyer addressed the court from the Istanbul Courthouse via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS. In their final opinion, the prosecutor asked the court to convict Örüç as charged.

 

Örüç’s lawyer Erselan Aktan said: “Three social media posts are held as evidence against my client in the indictment. One of them features images taken and published by a foreign press organization, which my client mentioned in quotes. No terrorist organizations are mentioned in the posts in question and this cannot constitute a basis for a punishment.”

 

Şafak Aki, another lawyer representing Örüç, said in their written statement submitted to the court: “The posts my client shared were made in order to contribute to public discussions and inform the public. I request his acquittal based on the clause added to Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law, which stipulates that expressions of opinion made for the purpose of reporting and criticism do not constitute a crime.”

 

Issuing its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court sentenced Örüç to 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison for “terrorism propaganda” and deferred the sentence.

 

Journalist Hüseyin Şenol threatened with bullet in his mailbox

 

Germany-based journalist Hüseyin Şenol, the founder of the newspaper Merhaba and a columnist for the news website Avrupa Demokrat, was threatened with a bullet left in his mailbox at the newspaper. According to a report published on Avrupa Demokrat on 20 October 2021, a police investigation into the incident is underway.

 

Court to wait for response to letters rogatory in case against Hayko Bağdat

 

The fifth hearing of journalist Hayko Bağdat’s trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299) was held at the Istanbul 50th Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 October 2021. Bağdat, who lives abroad, and his lawyers, who submitted letters of excuse, did not attend the hearing. Ruling to wait for the response to letters rogatory issued for Bağdat’s statement to be taken in his current country of residence, the court adjourned the case until 16 February 2022.

 

Three articles published in Evrensel blocked for access

 

The Burdur Criminal Judgeship of Peace has blocked access to three articles published in Evrensel daily.

 

One of the articles is a column by the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Fatih Polat in which he wrote about a book titled Yaralı Yonca, co-written by Ruhi Karadağ and Faruk Balıkçı. The access ban decision was issued following a complaint filed by the Burdur Provincial Gendarmerie Command.

 

Prosecutor seeks sentence for video activist Oktay İnce

 

Documentary maker and video-activist Oktay İnce appeared before the Izmir Kemalpaşa 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 October 2021 for the latest hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299).

 

Presenting their final opinion during the hearing, the prosecutor demanded that the court sentence İnce as charged. Granting İnce a continuance to prepare his final defense statement, the court adjourned the case until 23 November 2021.

 

İnce, a member of the “Seyri Sokak” video and documentary collective, was taken into custody in a police raid on his home on 16 October 2018 as part of an investigation launched on the allegation that posts shared on the collective’s social media account made “terrorism propaganda.” During the search, the police confiscated İnce’s entire video archive as well as digital equipment belonging to his family. İnce was released after giving his statement at the Police Department. The indictment accusing İnce of “insulting the president” was issued after he began staging public protests seeking the return of his seized video archive.

 

Investigation launched against Oktay Candemir

 

An investigation has been launched against journalist Oktay Candemir on the allegations of “insult” (TCK 125) and “disturbing a person’s peace and harmony” (TCK 123) due to a Twitter post in which he commented on Habertürk columnist Çetiner Çetin being on the executive board list of the football club Vanspor. Candemir gave his statement at the Van Police Department earlier this week as part of the investigation, launched following a complaint by Çetin.

 

European Court: “Insulting the president” sentence violated freedom of expression

 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days given to Vedat Şorli in 2017 on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299) on the grounds of a photo and a cartoon he had shared on Facebook violated freedom of expression.

 

In its judgment issued on 19 October 2021, the ECtHR stated that the provision was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court stressed that the provision had a chilling effect on the individual in raising issues of public interest. The judgment is significant in terms of being the first decision by the ECtHR concerning TCK 299 and setting a precedent regarding the provision.

 

Fox TV reporter prevented from shooting in farmers’ market

 

Fox TV reporter Beril Özcan said in a message she shared on Twitter on 19 October 2021 that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials prevented her from shooting in the farmers’ market in Kadıköy’s Fikirtepe quarter. Özcan stated that she was told by municipal officials that she had to get permission from the municipality to conduct interviews in the market.

 

Ceren Akdağ, an official from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality contacted by Evrensel daily, told the newspaper that journalists were “not required to get authorization but were being asked to notify the municipality due to security reasons.”

 

Actress Berna Laçin called in for questioning over Twitter post

 

Actress Berna Laçin announced on her Twitter account on 19 October 2021 that she was recently called in for questioning due to a social media post in which she wrote that “cherries were expensive.”

 

Court rejects Mehmet Baransu’s request for recusal of judges in “Taraf trial”

 

​​The 36th hearing of the “Taraf trial,” in which the shuttered newspaper's former executives Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar, Yıldıray Oğur, reporter Mehmet Baransu and journalist Tuncay Opçin are facing various charges for allegedly publishing a confidential military document called “Egemen (sovereign) operation plan,” was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 18 October 2021.

 

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion, submitted to the court in June. The prosecutor is seeking conviction for Baransu on three charges: “Systematically destroying or damaging documents relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State” under Article 326 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK); “Obtaining information that, due to its nature, is to be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State” (TCK 327); and “Disclosing information that, due to its nature, must be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State” (TCK 329); while also demanding conviction for Altan, Çongar and Oğur on the charge of “Disclosing confidential information” (TCK 329) and the separation of the file against Opçin, who is at large.

 

Before making their defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, Baransu and his lawyers addressed the court regarding procedure. Arguing that the court has lost its impartiality, they requested the recusal of the judges. The court rejected the requests.

 

In its interim ruling, the court ordered the continuation of Baransu’s detention. Canceling the hearing scheduled for 19 October, the court set 12 November 2021 as the date for the next hearing, granting Baransu and his lawyers time to file their objection against the rejection of their request for the recusal of the panel.

 

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

 

Singer Hozan Cane sentenced for “aiding a terrorist organization”

 

Kurdish-German singer Hozan Cane’s retrial on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” (TCK 220/7) concluded at the Edirne 3rd High Criminal Court on 18 October 2021.

 

Reiterating their final opinion submitted during the previous hearing, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Hozan Cane as charged, arguing that video clips and other messages shared on a social media account allegedly belonging to the singer “praised terrorism” and “made terrorism propaganda.”

 

Hozan Cane’s lawyer Nevroz Akalan told the court that according to case-law by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the “aiding a terrorist organization” charge required the presence of “financial aid” and added: “The act of aiding a terrorist organization cannot be committed through propaganda. As it is, the elements of the propaganda charge are not present in the case. The social media accounts cited by the prosecutor do not belong to my client, a fact that has also been established through witness statements.” Lawyer Mustafa Peköz also asserted that there was no evidence proving the alleged offense and requested his client’s acquittal.

 

Issuing its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court sentenced Hozan Cane to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison for “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization.”

 

Two MA reporters detained while covering protest in Istanbul

 

Mezopotamya news agency reporters Muhammet Enes Sezgin and Mahmut Altuntaş were taken into custody while covering a protest in Istanbul on 16 October 2021. Eight protesters who were members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Youth Assembly were also detained. All 10 were released later that evening after giving their statements at the Beyoğlu District Police Department.

 

Investigation against MA reporter Berna Kişin dismissed

 

An investigation launched against Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Berna Kişin on the allegation of “inciting hatred and hostility” (TCK 216) has been dismissed.

 

The investigation was launched in July by the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office due to two news reports Kişin wrote for MA and the news portal politikhaber.org about the murder of seven members of a Kurdish family in Konya province. The investigation was dismissed on 15 October 2021.

 

At least 59 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 22 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.