Sedef Kabaş jailed, Can Uğur briefly detained for “insulting the president”; Mehmet Baransu remains behind bars in Taraf trial; Abdurrahman Gök charged with “propaganda” in new indictment; Human Rights Association Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan to stand trial for his statements

 

Journalist Sedef Kabaş jailed for “insulting the president”

 

Journalist Sedef Kabaş was taken into custody in a midnight police raid on her home on 22 January 2022. Kabaş was detained on the allegation of “insulting the president” for her comments during a political discussion show that aired recently on TELE1.

 

Following procedures at the Police Department, Kabaş was taken to the Istanbul Courthouse, where she gave her statement to the prosecutor conducting the investigation. The prosecutor referred Kabaş to a criminal judgeship seeking her imprisonment pending trial. The court jailed the journalist on the charge of “insulting the president” under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Kabaş was sent to the Bakırköy Women’s Prison.

 

RTÜK launches investigation against TELE1 and FOX TV anchor

 

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has launched an investigation against TELE1 due to Sedef Kabaş’s remarks, the president of the Council, Ebubekir Şahin, announced on his social media account.

 

Şahin also announced earlier in the week that RTÜK was investigating FOX TV anchor Selçuk Tepeli over his comments on President Erdoğan’s economic policy during a recent newscast. Şahin said Tepeli’s comments “violated the principle of impartiality.”

 

“It is unacceptable for the FOX TV anchor to act like an opposition leader. Law No. 6112 mandates this. An investigation has been launched into the newscaster’s efforts to mislead the public,” Şahin wrote on Twitter.

 

“Taraf trial” adjourned until March; Mehmet Baransu remains behind bars

 

The 38th hearing of the “Taraf trial,” in which the former executives of the shuttered newspaper, Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar and Yıldıray Oğur, reporter Mehmet Baransu and journalist Tuncay Opçin are on trial for allegedly “publishing” a confidential military document called “Egemen” (sovereign) operation plan, was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 21 January 2022.

 

Baransu, who has been in pre-trial detention as part of the case since 2 March 2015, did not attend the hearing, citing Covid-19 cases in Silivri Prison. His lawyers and lawyers representing his co-defendants were present in court.

 

The motion filed by Baransu’s lawyers seeking the recusal of the judges for lack of impartiality and a fair trial has been rejected, the presiding judge told those in attendance.

 

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion, submitted to the court in June 2021. In the final opinion, the prosecutor is demanding 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). The prosecutor is also demanding that Altan, Çongar and Oğur be sentenced for “Disclosing confidential information” (TCK 329), and that the file against Opçin, who faces an arrest warrant as part of the case, be separated.

 

The court then heard statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion by lawyers representing Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar and Yıldıray Oğur.

 

Issuing an interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for the continuation of Mehmet Baransu's detention. Also ruling that Baransu be brought before the court for the next hearing and to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Opçin, the court adjourned the case until 4 March 2022.

 

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

 

RTÜK “warns” music channels against airing song by Sezen Aksu

 

A top level official from the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) called the executives of music channels this week, warning that they could face sanctions if they play a song by pop singer-songwriter Sezen Aksu, called “Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak” (Living is a wonderful thing).

 

RTÜK Deputy Chairman İbrahim Uslu, who warned music channel executives against playing the song, claimed he made the warning “in order to protect the channels.” Uslu made the same warning for “all songs that are against national and moral values.”

 

Originally released in 2017, the song recently stirred controversy among pro-government and conservative circles in Turkey after Aksu shared the video for the song on social media on New Year’s Eve. Aksu is being targeted for calling Adam and Eve “ignorant” in the song’s lyrics.

 

Trial against journalist Vedat Örüç adjourned until July

 

The third hearing of a trial in which journalist Vedat Örüç is charged with “violating the Law on Public Demonstrations” and “insulting a public official” (TCK 125) was held at the Istanbul 18th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 January 2022.

 

Örüç did not attend the hearing. He was represented by his lawyers Şafak Aki and Merve Kurhan. The judge explained that the court has received the footage requested from the Şişli District Police Department. Örüç’s lawyers told the court that their client was in the scene as a journalist.

 

The court granted the lawyers time to review the footage and prepare their statements and adjourned the case until 1 July 2022.

 

Trial against Engin Eren adjourned until April

 

A trial in which Engin Eren, a former reporter for the shuttered Dicle news agency (DİHA), is among 76 defendants charged with “membership in a terrorist organization,” “violating Law no. 2565” and “violating Law no. 2911,” resumed at the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court on 21 January 2022.

 

This was the 27th hearing of the trial. Eren is on trial for covering a “human shield” demonstration organized in Batman province in 2015.

 

Ruling once again to send the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of their final opinion, the court adjourned the case until 1 April 2022.

 

Investigation against Ayşe Güney dismissed

 

An investigation against Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform Spokesperson and JinNews editor Ayşe Güney has been dismissed by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Güney was detained on 14 July 2020 as part of the investigation launched against Rosa Women’s Association. After being detained for four days, Güney was released under judicial control measures and a ban on traveling abroad.

 

“Insulting the president” case against Berkin Elvan’s parents gets under way

 

The first hearing of a trial in which Berkin Elvan’s parents Gülsüm and Sami Elvan are charged with “insulting the president” (TCK 299) for public statements they made following hearings of the Berkin Elvan murder case was held at Istanbul 43rd Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 January 2022. Elvan died in 2014 after remaining in coma for months as a result of being hit by a gas canister fired by a police officer during 2013’s Gezi Park protests.

 

Gülsüm and Sami Elvan could not attend the hearing due to medical problems. The court adjourned the case until 21 April 2022.

 

Trial against Kenan Kırkaya adjourned until 28 January

 

A trial in which journalist Kenan Kırkaya is among nine defendants charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” continued At the Ankara 14th High Criminal Court on 20 January 2022. This was the 17th hearing of the case. The court set 28 January 2022 as the date for the next hearing.

 

Kırkaya, former Ankara representative for Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was detained in Ankara on 12 December 2016. The indictment against Kırkaya and eight others was issued on 15 May 2017. In their final opinion submitted to the court on 31 March 2020, the prosecutor demanded acquittal for Kırkaya.

 

Abdurrahman Gök charged with “propaganda” in new indictment merged with ongoing case

 

The fourth hearing of the trial against journalist Abdurrahman Gök on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 20 January 2022. Gök, best known for his photos capturing the murder of Kemal Kurkut by police during the 2017 Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır, is on trial for his journalistic work.

 

Gök was in attendance with his lawyer Resul Temur.

 

During the previous hearing, the prosecutor had asked the court to file a new complaint against Gök on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” for social media posts the journalist had shared in 2017 and 2018.

 

During this week’s hearing, the presiding judge announced that a new indictment in which Gök is charged with “terrorism propaganda” has been issued following the complaint and merged with the ongoing trial.

 

Gök told the court that he was not notified of the new indictment and that he will make his defense statement after reviewing the file. His lawyer also requested a continuance to review the new indictment. Granting Gök and his lawyer time to review the new indictment, the court adjourned the case until 31 March 2022.

 

Photos showing YPG fighters in northern and eastern Syria, which Gök took during news coverage in the region, and shared on his social media accounts between 2017 and 2019, are held as evidence against the journalist in the new indictment.

 

Trial against Abdullah Kaya adjourned until April

 

The 17th hearing of the trial against former Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Abdullah Kaya on the charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “aiding a terrorist organization” was held at Ağrı 2nd High Criminal Court on 20 January 2022.

 

Kaya addressed the court from the Diyadin Courthouse via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS. His lawyer Timur Demir was present in the courtroom.

 

Kaya made his defense statement in response to accusation in a new indictment on the charge of “terrorism propaganda,” which has been merged with the ongoing case. Stating that the social media posts held as evidence against him featured photos he took during news coverage and that they contained no criminal elements, Kaya demanded his acquittal.

 

In its interim ruling, the court decided to wait for the finalization of the Supreme Court of Appeals’ judgment concerning a prison sentence of 4 years and 2 months Kaya had been given on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization” and adjourned the case until 19 April 2022.

 

Trial against Rüstem Batum adjourned until March

 

Journalist and former TV talk show host Rüstem Batum’s trial on the charges of “insulting the president” (TCK 299/1) and “inciting hatred and enmity” (TCK 216/1) resumed at the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 January 2022.

 

Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Batum, the court adjourned the case until 29 March 2022.

 

The accusation stems from 20 Twitter posts Batum had shared in 2016 and 2018.

 

İHD Co-Chair Türkdoğan to stand trial for his statements

 

Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan is charged with “membership in an armed organization” for his statements regarding human rights violations in a new case filed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The indictment was accepted by the Ankara 19th High Criminal Court. The first hearing of the case will be held on 22 February 2022. Türkdoğan was detained on 19 March 2021 and released later that day.

 

Journalist Can Uğur briefly detained on “insulting the president” charge

 

BirGün reporter Can Uğur was detained upon landing at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport on 18 January 2022. Uğur, who was taken into custody on the charge of “insulting the president,” was taken to the police station. The reason for the detention was a statement Uğur was supposed to give within the scope of a case filed due to an article published in BirGün in 2015. Uğur was released following procedures at the police station.

 

Lawyer Efkan Bolaç charged with “insulting the president” for sharing Carlos Latuff cartoon

 

Lawyer Efkan Bolaç is charged with “insulting the president” (TCK 299) in a new case. The accusation stems from a social media post by Bolaç, in which he had shared a caricature by Carlos Latuff that depicted Berkin Elvan, who died in 2014 after remaining in coma for months after being hit on the head by a gas canister fired by the police during 2013’s Gezi Park protests. Bolaç had shared the caricature on 5 January 2016.

 

Osman Kavala remains behind bars as retrial of Gezi and Çarşı defendants resumes

 

The “Gezi trial,” in which 16 civil society figures, including the jailed businessperson Osman Kavala, are being retried for allegedly “organizing and financing” 2013’s Gezi Park protests, resumed at Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 17 January 2022.

 

With the addition of 35 defendants who are members of the Beşiktaş football fan group “Çarşı,” who are being retried for allegedly “organizing a plot against the government during Gezi protests,” there are now 52 defendants in the case. The two files were merged last summer.

 

“Gezi” defendants Mücella Yapıcı, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Mine Özerden, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi, Hakan Altınay and some of the defendants from “Çarşı” case and defense lawyers were in attendance.

 

Kavala, the only jailed defendant in the case, did not attend the hearing. His lawyers were present in the courtroom. Kavala, who has been behind bars since November 2017 as part of the “Gezi” and “15 July coup attempt” investigations against him, had said in a statement issued in October 2021 that he would not be attending hearings anymore because he did not believe this was a fair trial.

 

After hearing statements by the defendants in attendance, the prosecutor demanded the continuation of Kavala’s detention and the lifting of judicial control measures imposed on Özerden and Altınay.

 

In its interim decision, the court ruled by a majority to keep Kavala in pretrial detention “considering that there has been no change in the legal circumstances; the nature of the alleged crime; … and the fact that judicial control measures will not be sufficient.” Also ruling for the continuation of the judicial control measures imposed on the other defendants, the court accepted requests by Özerden and Altınay to be exempt from attending hearings and set 21 February 2022 as the date for the next hearing.

 

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

 

Journalist Meşale Tolu, who spent 7.5 months in pretrial detention, acquitted

 

The final hearing of the long-running trial against journalist Meşale Tolu and 22 others on “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2) and “terrorism propaganda” (TMK 7/2) charges was held at the Istanbul 29. High Criminal Court on 17 January 2022.

 

The prosecutor, who submitted their final opinion on the case on 15 September 2021, had demanded Tolu’s acquittal of all charges due to lack of concrete and conclusive evidence. Also requesting acquittal for 10 other defendants of all charges, the prosecutor sought conviction for 10 defendants on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” while seeking their acquittal of the “membership in a terrorist organization” charge. Tolu’s husband, Suat Çorlu, who is a member of the central executive board of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), was among the latter 10 defendants. The prosecutor demanded that the court convict two defendants of “terrorism propaganda” and “committing a crime on behalf of a terrorist organization without being its member” (TCK 220/6).

 

The court delivered its judgment at the end of the hearing, acquitting Tolu and 18 other defendants, including Tolu’s husband, of all charges.

 

The court sentenced Deniz Havuç and Serkan Okatan to 6 years, 5 months and 15 days in prison each on charges of “committing a crime on behalf of an armed terrorist organization” and “violating the Law on Public Demonstrations.” The court also sentenced Ali Aykut to 1 year, 6 months and 22 days and Serkan Zorlu to 10 months in prison for “terrorism propaganda.” Their sentences were deferred.

 

Tolu, who is a German citizen, was a translator and reporter for Etkin News Agency (ETHA) when she was arrested following a police raid on her home in Istanbul on 30 April 2017. She remained in pre-trial detention in Bakırköy Women's Prison with her toddler son for over seven months in 2017 as part of the case. Tolu was released pending trial by the court on 18 December 2017. Tolu and her co-defendants were accused of being members of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).

 

Imprisoned journalist Nedim Türfent’s meetings with his lawyers restricted

 

Journalist Nedim Türfent, who is imprisoned in Van High Security Prison, was imposed restrictions on his meetings with his lawyers. The meetings Türfent will have with his lawyers will be recorded and observed for three months by the prison management. The decision was taken on the grounds that a note Türfent’s lawyer gave the journalist during a visit “could endanger security in the prison.” The note contained a request for the poems Türfent wrote in prison to be translated into other languages as part of an academic project.

 

In its decision dated 7 January 2022, the judgeship ruled that written memos lawyers bring to Türfent be seized; his meetings with his lawyers be recorded for three months; that the meetings be monitored by a prison officer; that the documents exchanged between Türfent and his lawyers be confiscated; and that they can have one meeting for up to one hour every week.

 

At least 60 journalists and media workers in prison

 

Following the imprisonment of Sedef Kabaş pending trial, as of 23 January 2022, at least 60 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.