Court rules to keep Osman Kavala in detention; new indictment issued against journalist Nazan Sala; actor Genco Erkal, journalist Gökhan Biçici stand trial for “insulting the president”; Fatih Gönül, who spent 4.5 months in pre-trial detention, acquitted; Nurcan Yalçın handed down 3 years, 7 months in prison 

 

New indictment against journalist Nazan Sala accepted by court

 

The Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued a new indictment against journalist Nazan Sala in connection with her employment at ROJ TV, which was closed down by a Danish court in 2013 for “spreading terrorism propaganda.” The new indictment, in which Sala is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization,” was accepted by the Van 5th High Criminal Court, which also ruled to merge it with an ongoing trial against Sala and four other journalists in connection with their reporting on the alleged torture of two villagers in Van by soldiers.

 

The new indictment is based on a criminal investigation launched in 2009 in Ankara against some employees of ROJ TV. That investigation, however, was dismissed in 2021 on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. The date of the crime cited in the indictment is 2017.

 

Sala and four other journalists who stand trial in the torture reports case are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization.” The next hearing of the now-merged case will be held on 6 January 2022.

 

Osman Kavala remains in pre-trial detention as merged Gezi and Çarşı cases resume

 

The “Gezi trial,” in which 16 civil society figures, including the jailed businessperson Osman Kavala, are being retried for allegedly “organizing and financing” the nationwide Gezi protests that took place in 2013, resumed at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 26 November 2021. This was the second courtroom hearing after the trial courts ruled this summer to merge the case with the retrial of defendants in the “Çarşı case.”

 

With the addition of 35 defendants who are members of the Beşiktaş football fan group “Çarşı,” who are accused of “organizing a plot against the government during the Gezi Park protests,” there are now 52 defendants in the case. US academic Henri Barkey, who is facing espionage and coup charges along with Kavala in the “15 July coup attempt” case, which was merged with the Gezi trial in February 2021, is also one of the defendants.

 

P24 monitored the hearing. Kavala, the only jailed defendant in the case, did not attend. In a statement issued in October, Kavala had declared that he would not be attending hearings from that point on because he did not believe this was a fair trial.

 

Rejecting requests for the separation of the Gezi and Çarşı trials and ruling by a majority to keep Osman Kavala behind bars, the court adjourned the case until 17 January 2022.

 

Actor Genco Erkal appears in court on “insulting the president” charge

 

Stage actor Genco Erkal appeared before the Istanbul 16th Criminal Court of First Instance on 25 November 2021 for the first hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299) for three social media posts he shared in 2016 and 2020.

 

Erkal and his lawyers attended the hearing. After hearing Erkal’s defense statement, the court accepted President Erdoğan’s request to join the case and decided to send the case file to the prosecutor’s office for their final opinion. The next hearing of the case will be held on 11 March 2022.

 

The indictment was filed on the basis of a 2016 e-mail complaint against the 83-year-old actor, which was ignored by the authorities for five years. In the tweets that are now subject to prosecution, Erkal brought up the allegations that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not have a university educations, mocked the presidential system and criticized a planned urban transformation work in Ayder Plateau, a popular tourist destination in the Black Sea region.

 

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

 

Gökhan Biçici appears in court on “insulting the president” charge

 

dokuz8HABER Editor-in-Chief Gökhan Biçici appeared before the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance on 25 November 2021 for the first hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299). The accusation stems from a report published on 1 June 2020 on the news portal dokuz8HABER.net about a statement by the hacker group Anonymous.

 

Accepting the request by Erdoğan’s lawyer to join the case, the court adjourned the trial until 17 February 2022.

 

Journalists Ruvanas and Eser acquitted, prosecutor appeals judgment

 

The 13th and final hearing of a trial in which former Dicle news agency (DİHA) reporters Ferzen Çatak and Dilgeş Ruvanas and former Azadiya Welat reporter Kadri Esen were charged with “membership in a terrorist organization,” “terrorism propaganda” and “marking a public official involved in the fight against terrorism as a target” was held at the Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court on  25 November 2021.

 

After hearing the final defense statements of Ruvanas and Esen, the court acquitted the two journalists for lack of convincing and concrete evidence. The court separated the file against Çatak. The trial prosecutor, who objected to the acquittals, appealed against the court’s judgment with the regional court of justice.

 

All three journalists were detained in a raid on their house on 28 February 2016 during the curfew in the İdil district of Şırnak. The indictment charged Çatak with “marking a public official involved in the fight against terrorism as a target” under Article 6 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK), “terrorism propaganda” (TMK 7/2) and “membership in a terrorist organization” under Article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Ruvanas and Esen were charged with “marking a public official involved in the fight against terrorism as a target” and “terrorism propaganda.”

 

Trial against Deniz Yücel adjourned until April

 

The second hearing of a trial in which Die Welt reporter Deniz Yücel is charged with “insulting the president” (TCK 299) and “insulting the Turkish nation, the Turkish state, the Grand National Assembly, the government and the judiciary” (TCK 301/1) for two articles he wrote in 2016 was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 25 November 2021. Ruling to issue letters rogatory for Yücel’s statement to be taken in Germany, the court adjourned the trial until 12 April 2022.

 

Former DİHA reporter Fatih Gönül acquitted

 

The final hearing of a trial in which former Dicle news agency (DİHA) reporter Fatih Gönül was charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Ankara 25th High Criminal Court on 25 November 2021.

 

Making his defense statement at the hearing, Gönül said: “I was in Iğdır during the football match which the prosecution presented as evidence and I proved this with photographs. Again, in the tapes among the evidence, there are only casual conversations I had with my roommate and girlfriend. The names in the notes I kept within the scope of a project were also held as evidence against me. This is profiling. I am on trial even though there is no concrete evidence against me. I demand my acquittal.”

 

Fatih Gönül’s lawyer Atiye Arıkan presented to the court the acquittal judgment rendered by the Muş 2nd High Criminal Court in a previous trial in which Gönül was charged with “membership in a terrorist organization.” Arıkan said: “The only concrete evidence presented by the prosecution is that my client worked at DİHA, but there has not been a single investigation regarding him within the scope of the file.” The lawyer added that Gönül did not even have a social media account through which to make propaganda for a terrorist organization as alleged by the prosecution. Asserting that the case was based on a false tip-off, the lawyer requested Gönül’s acquittal.

 

Issuing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for Gönül’s acquittal of both charges. Gönül was arrested on 30 September 2020 within the scope of the investigation against him and remained in pre-trial detention for 4.5 months before being released by the trial court at the end of his first hearing, held on 16 February 2021.

 

RTÜK fines Kafa Radyo for comments on donations collected by the government

 

According to reports dated 24 November 2021, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed an administrative fine on the radio station Kafa Radyo for “violating the principle of impartiality/accuracy” in on-air comments regarding the donations collected by the government for the Covid-19 pandemic in an episode of the show “Nihat’la Sivrisinek” hosted by Nihat Sırdar.

 

Legal action launched against 271 social media accounts for posts on Turkish Lira’s decline

 

The General Directorate of Security announced that legal action has been launched against 271 social media accounts that posted about the recent decline in Turkish Lira and the government's economic policy.

 

In a statement issued on 24 November 2021, the General Directorate of Security said: “Legal action has been taken against individuals identified through an inquiry into 271 accounts that shared manipulative content and disinformation as well as content that manipulate the fluctuation in exchange rates, incite hatred and enmity, and encourage people to take to the streets to use force and violence.”

 

Requests for recusal of judge rejected in “Saturday Mothers trial”

 

The third hearing of a trial in which 46 people who were detained during the banned 700th protest by the Saturday Mothers are charged with “violating the Law No. 2911 on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance on 24 November 2021.

 

The hearing began two hours and 15 minutes later than scheduled. The judge did not make any explanations regarding the delay. When defense lawyers demanded an explanation, the judge rejected their requests, saying there was no provision stipulating that a judge provide an explanation for delaying a hearing in the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK).

 

Defense lawyer Metin İriz reminded the judge that the court has still not ruled on the recusal motions submitted during the previous hearing and said that the case should be adjourned until a ruling on that matter is rendered. Citing numerous violations of the CMK by the court and the lack of conditions for a fair trial, the defense lawyers demanded the recusal of the judge from the case. The court rejected the requests.

 

Ruling to issue arrest warrants for 10 defendants who could not attend the hearing, the judge adjourned the case until 23 March 2022.

 

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

 

MA reporter Emrullah Acar released after spending five days in detention

 

Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Emrullah Acar, who was detained in a police raid on his house in Şanlıurfa province on 19 November 2021, was released under judicial control measures by a criminal judgeship of peace on 24 November 2021, after spending five days in custody. Acar will be required to report to the nearest police station once a month to give his signature.

 

The reporter was detained as part of an investigation conducted by the Malatya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for alleged “membership in a terrorist organization.” During the raid, Acar’s computer and the memory card for his camera were seized by the police. Acar was taken to the Malatya province the same day after procedures at the Police Department. During his interrogation, Acar was questioned about his phone calls with a news source.

 

Two journalists assaulted by soldiers in Lice, Diyarbakır

 

Jin News reporter Derya Ren and Mezopotamya News Agency reporter Eylem Akdağ were blocked by soldiers and the police while covering a demonstration in Diyarbakır’s Lice district on 23 November 2021. Soldiers reportedly pushed Akdağ with a gun and confiscated the journalists’ cameras. Akdağ and Ren, who then tried to shoot videos on their phones, were threatened with detention. The soldiers returned the journalists’ cameras after HDP Deputy Remziye Tosun intervened.

 

Evrensel newspaper’s Kocaeli representative briefly detained

 

Journalist Gözde Meydan, the Kocaeli representative of Evrensel newspaper, was detained by the police while covering a protest in Derince district on 23 November 2021 against the recent collapse of the Turkish Lira. The detainees, who were taken to the Police Department, were charged with “inciting the public to hatred and enmity.” Meydan and other detained citizens were released the same night following medical examination at the hospital.

 

ETHA website blocked for access

 

Access to the website of Etkin News Agency (ETHA) was blocked by a decision of the Diyarbakır 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace, dated 23 November 2021. The website can be accessed on etha27.com.

 

“KCK Press trial” adjourned once again

 

The “KCK Press trial,” in which 46 journalists and media workers face various “terrorism” related charges, resumed at the Istanbul 3rd High Criminal Court on 23 November 2021. This was the 23rd hearing in the trial, which has been dragging on since 2012.

 

P24 monitored the hearing. The lawyers representing the defendants were in attendance. Accepting letters of excuse submitted by some of the defense lawyers, the court adjourned the trial until 22 February 2022.

 

The 46 press members on trial were detained on 20 December 2011 in a sweeping raid targeting the Dicle news agency, Özgür Gündem, Azadiya Welat, and Demokratik Modernite newspapers, and the distribution company Fırat Dağıtım. Among them, 32 were jailed pending trial on 24 December 2011. The jailed defendants have since been released. The indictment accuses the journalists for their work.

 

Trial of 22 journalists arrested in 2016’s Özgür Gündem raid adjourned until December

 

A trial in which 22 journalists violently arrested during a 2016 police raid on Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Istanbul office are charged with “preventing police officers from performing their duty” (TCK 265/1) and “insulting a public official” (TCK 125/1, 125/3-a) resumed at the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 23 November 2021. This was the 11th hearing in the case.

 

The pro-Kurdish daily was “temporarily” closed in August 2016 by a criminal judgeship of peace, which cited “terrorism propaganda” as the grounds for its decision. Police teams raided the head office of Özgür Gündem the same day to implement the court’s decision.

 

The prosecutor is demanding conviction for all 22 journalists.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, at the end of which the court was expected to issue its judgment. Accepting letters of excuse submitted by lawyers representing some of the journalists on trial, the court postponed the case until 21 December 2021.

 

“Vice News trial” adjourned until February

 

British journalists Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury and their Iraqi translator Mohammed Ismael Rasool’s trial in absentia on terrorism-related charges resumed at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court on 23 November 2021.

 

This was the 12th hearing of the trial, in which Vice News reporter Pendlebury is charged with “membership by willingly aiding a terrorist organization” and Hanrahan and Rasool are charged with “Breaching the Law on the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism,” “terrorism propaganda” and “membership by willingly aiding a terrorist organization.” Hanrahan, Pendlebury and Rasool were arrested in Diyarbakır in 2015 while shooting a news story for Vice News. All three were subsequently released.

 

The defendants’ lawyers Abdullah Orçun and Özgür Yaşasoy attended the hearing.

The court adjourned the trial until 24 February 2022, awaiting response from the Justice Ministry to the court’s request for letters rogatory to be issued for the defendants’ statements to be taken in their country of residence.

 

“Insulting the president” case against Oktay İnce to resume on 30 November

 

Documentary maker and video-activist Oktay İnce appeared before the Izmir Kemalpaşa 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 23 November 2021 for the latest hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299).

 

İnce and his lawyer Ali Arif Cangı attended the hearing. Granting İnce’s lawyer additional time for the final defense statement, the court set 30 November as the date for the next hearing.

 

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.

 

Journalist Nurcan Yalçın handed down 3 years and 7 months in prison

 

The final hearing of journalist Nurcan Yalçın’s trial on the charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda,” launched within the scope of an investigation against the Rosa Women’s Association, was held at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court on 22 November 2021.

 

Yalçın did not attend the hearing. She was represented by her lawyer Resul Temur. Issuing its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court sentenced Yalçın to a total of 3 years, 7 months and 22 days in prison on two charges -- 2 years and 1 month for “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” (TCK 220/7) and 1 year, 6 months and 22 days for “terrorism propaganda” (TMK 7/2). The “propaganda” sentence was deferred by the court.

 

At least 58 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 26 November 2021, at least 58 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.