Turkey tops freedom of expression violations in ECtHR statistics; prosecutor demands sentence for Derya Okatan; new case against poet Yılmaz Odabaşı begins; court files criminal complaint against Çetin Kurşun; former MA editor Elif Çetiner sentenced to 1 year and 8 months; access to ETHA, Xwebun, Yeni Yaşam, Gazete Alınteri websites blocked

 

President issues circular against Turkish adaptations of foreign productions

 

President Tayyip Erdoğan issued a circular titled “Press and Broadcasting Activities” over the weekend, stating that “measures” would be taken against TV shows billed as “open and covert activities aimed at wearing down national and moral values ​​and undermining family and social structure through the media.” The circular, published in the Official Gazette on 29 January 2022, stated that programs broadcast by some television networks, particularly adaptations of foreign content, featured “elements contrary to the basic values ​​of the society” and that necessary steps would be taken “to eliminate their destructive effects.”

 

Access to websites of Yeni Yaşam, Xwebun and Gazete Alınteri blocked

 

Access to the websites of Yeni Yaşam daily, the weekly Kurdish-language newspaper Xwebûn, and Gazete Alınteri news portal were blocked by three separate decisions by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) issued on 28 January 2022.

 

Kenan Kırkaya acquitted, court refuses to return his confiscated notebook

 

The 18th and final hearing of a case in which journalist Kenan Kırkaya and eight other people were charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at Ankara 14th High Criminal Court on 28 January 2022.

 

Ruling in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court acquitted Kırkaya for lack of evidence. Three other defendants were also acquitted.

 

Despite the acquittal judgment, the court ruled that a notebook confiscated from Kırkaya during the investigation be kept as evidence in the case file on the grounds that it contained “statements containing terrorism propaganda.” The notebook contained handwritten drafts of Kırkaya’s literary work in Kurdish which he wrote while he was in prison.

 

Kırkaya, the former Ankara representative of the now-defunct Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was detained in Ankara in December 2016. The indictment issued in May 2017 charged Kırkaya and eight others with “membership in a terrorist organization.”

 

Turkey among top three countries with most content removal requests from Twitter in first half of 2021

 

Turkey ranked third after Japan and Russia in the list of governments with the highest number of requests for content removal from Twitter in the first half of 2021, according to statistics the social media platform announced recently.

 

Twitter announced that from January-June 2021, governments made 43,387 requests to remove content from 196,878 accounts. It said the number of accounts in question marked the highest number since 2012, when Twitter started sharing its transparency reports.

 

New case against poet Yılmaz Odabaşı gets underway

 

The first hearing of a trial in which poet Yılmaz Odabaşı is charged with “incitement to hatred and enmity” (TCK 216/1) and “publicly degrading a section of the public based on social class, race, religion, sect, gender or regional differences” (TCK 216/2) was held at the Alanya 6th Criminal Court of First Instance on 27 January 2022.

 

Odabaşı, who is on trial for a Twitter post, did not attend the hearing. He was represented by his lawyers Özgür Tarakçı and Süleyman Şeker. Stating that Odabaşı’s post should be considered within the scope of freedom of expression, the lawyers demanded his acquittal.

 

Ruling to wait for the submission of documents regarding another defendant in the case file, the court adjourned the case until 12 May 2022.

 

Retrial of Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to continue in May

 

A trial in which Eren Keskin, the former co-editor-in-chief of Özgür Gündem newspaper, and Reyhan Çapan, the newspaper’s former responsible managing editor, are charged with “revealing the identity of the perpetrator or victim of a crime who is under the age of 18” (under Article 21/c of the Press Law) resumed at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 27 January 2022.

 

This was the fourth hearing of Keskin and Çapan’s retrial. The accusation stems from five articles Özgür Gündem published in 2013 and 2014 on Berkin Elvan, a teenage boy 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.

 

Keskin and Çapan’s lawyer Sercan Korkmaz attended the hearing. Addressing the court during the hearing, the lawyer stated that the elements of the alleged crime did not occur. “The identity of the victim is known by the entire country. The reports about his death did not have any negative consequences for Berkin Elvan,” Korkmaz said, demanding the acquittal of his clients.

 

In its interim ruling, the court decided to send invitations to Keskin and Çapan to attend the next hearing and adjourned the case until 24 May 2022.

 

Journalist Velat Öztekin to be brought to court by force

 

A trial in which journalist Velat Öztekin is charged with “insulting the president” (TCK 299) for two cartoons he shared on social media in 2015 and 2016 got underway at the Diyarbakır 7th Criminal Court of First Instance on 27 January 2022.

 

Ruling that Öztekin, who did not attend the hearing because he was abroad, be brought to the next hearing by force for his statement to be taken, the court adjourned the case until 31 May 2022.

 

Court files new criminal complaint against journalist Çetin Kurşun

 

Former Azadiya Welat reporter Çetin Kurşun’s retrial on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2) resumed at the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court on 27 January 2022.

 

In October 2021, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice overturned a 3-year sentence given to Kurşun in May 2019 on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” and remanded the case to the trial court, ruling that the journalist should stand trial for alleged “membership in a terrorist organization.”

 

Kurşun and his lawyer, who submitted letters of excuse, did not attend the hearing.

 

In its interim decision, the court ruled that Kurşun be forcibly brought to the next hearing. The court also decided to file an additional criminal complaint against Kurşun on the allegation of “terrorism propaganda” due to content published on the website Ciwan News, and that the Mardin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office send the new indictment to the court to be merged with the retrial. The court set 12 May 2022 as the date for the next hearing.

 

Final hearing of Buse Söğütlü set for 3 February

 

Gazete Yolculuk reporter Buse Söğütlü appeared before the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 27 January 2022 for the sixth hearing of her trial on the charge of “marking an official involved in the fight against terrorism as a target” under Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK). Söğütlü is on trial for a Twitter post in which she commented on a trial overseen by judge Akın Gürlek.

 

Arguing that the journalist disclosed the full name of the judge in her Twitter post shared on 18 March 2019, the prosecutor is demanding that the court sentence Söğütlü as charged.

 

The hearing was overseen by a new presiding judge, who was recently appointed to the court.

 

In her statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, Söğütlü said the public already knew about Akın Gürlek and his judgments before her Twitter post. She said her post was within the scope of freedom of expression. “Journalists can certainly comment on unlawful decisions issued by a judge who considers himself higher than the highest legal authority,” Söğütlü added.

 

Söğütlü’s lawyer Ezgi Önalan told the court: “Judges are supposed to be independent and impartial and therefore they cannot be among ‘officials involved in the fight against terrorism.’”

 

After hearing Söğütlü and her lawyer’s statements, the presiding judge announced that the court would not deliver its judgment at this hearing and adjourned the trial until 3 February 2022.

 

Trial against Hayko Bağdat postponed

 

The trial against journalist Hayko Bağdat on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” due to his social media posts resumed on 27 January 2022 at the Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court. Bağdat and his lawyers did not attend the hearing. The court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued for Bağdat and adjourned the case to a later date.

 

Court rejects objection to Sedef Kabaş’s detention

 

The objection to the detention of journalist Sedef Kabaş was rejected by the Istanbul 58th Criminal Court of First Instance on 26 January 2022. Kabaş was arrested on the charge of “insulting the president” because of her remarks during a recent political discussion show on TELE1.

 

The court rejected the objection “considering the facts that the objections stated in the petition by the detained suspect’s lawyer are not valid; there is a strong suspicion that the crime had been committed publicly in a qualified manner; and that the suspect had previously stood trial on a similar charge.”

 

Prosecutor demands sentence for journalist Derya Okatan

 

The second hearing of a trial in which journalist Derya Okatan is charged with “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on 26 January 2022. 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.

 

Presenting their final opinion, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Okatan for “systematically making terrorism propaganda.” Granting Okatan and her lawyers time to prepare their final defense statements, the court adjourned the case until 21 April 2022.

 

Trial of journalist Hatice Şahin adjourned until April

 

The seventh 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 26 January 2022.

 

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.

 

Şahin did not attend the hearing. Her lawyer Resul Temur was present. The presiding judge said that the court received the evidence collected by the Diyarbakır Police Department and that the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also received a response from Diyarbakır anti-terror police regarding the statement of witness Derya Aslan. The response said that Aslan had exercised her right to remain silent. Another writ issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office upon this response has not yet been answered.

 

The court decided to wait for the response concerning Derya Aslan’s statement and set 18 April 2022 as the date for the next hearing. The court ruled for the continuation of the judicial control measures imposed on Şahin.

 

Trial against Engin Korkmaz adjourned due to change of prosecutor

 

Journalist Engin Korkmaz, the responsible managing editor of the local Antalya Körfez newspaper, appeared before the Antalya 19th Criminal Court of First Instance on 26 January 2022 for the seventh hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299) due to his social media posts.

 

Granting the newly appointed prosecutor additional time to review the case file, the court postponed the case until 13 May 2022.

 

Turkey tops freedom of expression violations in ECtHR statistics

 

Turkey once again ranked first among Council of Europe member states in terms of violations of freedom of expression in 2021, according to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which announced the statistics for 2021 on 25 January 2022.

 

The Court said it found a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in a total of 85 applications in 2021. Among these judgments, 31 were rendered in applications filed against Turkey.

 

The ECtHR ruled on a total of 78 applications filed from Turkey in 2021. The Court found at least one violation in 76 of these applications. Among them, the Court found a violation of freedom of expression in 31 judgments, the right to liberty and security in 29 judgments, the right to a fair trial in 22 judgments, and the freedom of assembly and association in 3 judgments it rendered against Turkey.

 

European Court: Deniz Yücel’s detention violated 3 articles of the Convention

 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 25 January 2022 that the pre-trial detention of Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel between 2017 and 2018 violated three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): the right to liberty and security (Article 5/1), right to compensation for unlawful detention (Article 5/5) and freedom of expression (Article 10).

 

The Court held by a majority of 5 votes to 2 that Yücel had been placed and retained in pre-trial detention in the absence of plausible reasons to suspect him of committing a criminal offense and that this had also amounted to an interference with his exercise of his right to freedom of expression. The Court also held that Yücel was not awarded appropriate and sufficient compensation by the Constitutional Court for his detention.

 

The Court held by a majority of 4 votes to 3 that there had been no violation of the right of access to the investigation file (Article 5/4) in Yücel’s application.

 

The ECtHR ordered Turkey to pay Yücel 13,300 euros in compensation.

 

Yücel, who was the Turkey correspondent of the German media outlet Die Welt, was arrested in February 2017 and remained in pre-trial detention for one year without an indictment against him until his release pending trial on 16 February 2018.

 

Caner Taşpınar’s trial postponed due to heavy snowfall in Istanbul

 

The fifth hearing of Odatv editor Caner Taşpınar’s trial on the charge of “insult” (TCK 125) for his 2020 book “Damat: Fethullahçıların AKP'li Kayınpederleri” (The groom: The AKP-member fathers-in-law of Fethullahists) that was scheduled for 25 January 2022 was postponed to 15 February 2022 due to heavy snowfall in Istanbul.

 

Musician Ferhat Tunç’s trial to continue in June

 

The latest hearing of exiled musician Ferhat Tunç’s trial on the charge of “insulting the president” (TCK 299), which was scheduled for 25 January 2022, was canceled due to heavy snowfall in Istanbul. The Büyükçekmece 14th Criminal Court of First Instance set 14 June 2022 as the date for the hearing.

 

First hearing of journalist İsmail Arı postponed due to heavy snowfall

 

The first hearing of BirGün reporter İsmail Arı’s trial on the charge of “unlawfully acquiring and disseminating personal data” (TCK 136) was scheduled for 25 January 2022. The Istanbul 58th Criminal Court of First Instance postponed the hearing to a later date due to heavy snowfall in Istanbul.

 

Arı is charged due to his report titled “Kızılay Başkanı ile Genel Müdürü’ne kesilen para cezalarının belgelerine BirGün ulaştı” (BirGün uncovers documents of fines imposed on the president and general manager of the Red Crescent), published in October 2020.

 

Trial of Burhan Ekinci postponed

 

The fourth hearing of journalist Burhan Ekinci’s trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” over his social media posts was scheduled for 25 January 2022. The 30th High Criminal Court of Istanbul postponed the trial until a later date due to heavy snowfall in Istanbul.

 

Prosecutor demands sentence for Devrim Ayık

 

​​The seventh hearing of a case in which former Özgür Halk magazine employee Devrim Ayık is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Izmir 2nd High Criminal Court on 25 January 2022.

 

Ayık, who is suffering from a critical illness, addressed the court from the Eskişehir H Type Prison via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS.

 

Presenting their final opinion, the prosecutor demanded that Ayık be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2) and “aiding and abetting” (TCK 39). The prosecutor demanded Ayık’s acquittal of the charges in a merged case file regarding an arson attack on a tree nursery in Izmir.

 

Rejecting Ayık’s request for release, the court adjourned the case until 8 April 2022, granting Ayık and his lawyers time to prepare their statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion.

 

Court asks prosecutor’s office to conclude five-year-old investigation against Ramazan Akoğul

 

The 10th hearing in the retrial of former Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Ramazan Akoğul on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 25 January 2022.

 

Akoğul did not attend the hearing. He was represented in the courtroom by his lawyer Resul Temur.

 

The presiding judge announced that the court has received the investigation file against Akoğul on the allegation of “membership in an armed organization” that was launched by the Dicle Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2016. The court decided to ask the Public Prosecutor’s Office to conclude the investigation without further delay and -- if the prosecution decides to press charges -- to send the case file to the court to be merged with the ongoing case and adjourned the trial until 10 May 2022.

 

Akoğul was detained and subsequently released in 2015 in Diyarbakır while he was covering a protest by a group wearing masks. In 2018, Akoğul and the protesters were acquitted of all charges in a case filed against them based on testimony by a secret witness. The prosecutor appealed the acquittal, demanding that Akoğul be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization,” claiming that the protesters who made a blockade “trusted” the journalist. Based on the prosecutor’s appeal, the 18th Criminal Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice overturned the acquittal and ordered a retrial.

 

RTÜK fines TELE1 and FOX TV

 

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed penalties on TELE1 and FOX TV at its extraordinary meeting held on 24 January 2022.

 

The broadcasting watchdog imposed an administrative fine on TELE1 and also suspended Uğur Dündar’s political discussion show “Demokrasi Arenası” five times for allegedly “inciting the public to hatred and enmity” over journalist Sedef Kabaş’s comments in a recent episode. RTÜK imposed an additional administrative fine on the network for Dündar’s criticism of RTÜK President Şahin.

 

RTÜK member İlhan Taşçı announced on his social media account that in accordance with RTÜK rules, throughout the five weeks during which Dündar’s show will be suspended the veteran journalist will not be allowed to host any broadcasts on TELE1 or any other network.

 

Taşçı noted that if TELE1 receives another penalty under Article 8/1/b of the Broadcasting Law this year, the network’s broadcast will be suspended for 10 days and it will be required to broadcast productions determined by RTÜK. If the channel receives a penalty under the same article for a third time, its broadcasting license will be canceled.

 

During this week’s extraordinary meeting, RTÜK also fined FOX TV for prime-time news anchor Selçuk Tepeli’s commentary on the grounds that his criticism of Erdoğan’s policies “prevented the formation of a free opinion in society.”

 

Access to ETHA blocked three times in a month

 

Access to the website of Etkin News Agency (ETHA) was blocked by a decision issued by the Diyarbakır 3rd Criminal Judgeship of Peace on 24 January 2022. The judge cited “the protection of national security and public order” as the grounds for the access blocking order, which marked the third access block issued for ETHA in January 2022.

 

Journalist Alican Uludağ targeted on social media

 

Journalist Alican Uludağ was targeted on Twitter by an account that called the DW Turkish reporter an “agent of influence” for his journalistic work after Uludağ reported that the judge who jailed Sedef Kabaş last week was a junior judge. Quoting the post, Uludağ responded: “If I fall from a building or get hit by a car one day, it will not be an accident. This account named Malik Ejder is the number one suspect. Let the record show.”

 

Halkın Günlüğü editor Bahattin Seçilir faces investigation

 

An investigation has been launched against Bahattin Seçilir, the managing editor of Halkın Günlüğü news portal, on account of an article published about the perpetrator of the June 2021 attack on the HDP İzmir provincial building. Seçilir went to the Bağcılar District Police Department in Istanbul this week to give his statement as part of the investigation. The report that is the subject of the investigation was a dispatch by Mezopotamya news agency.

 

Prison administration rejects book by imprisoned writers

 

A book titled “Firari Yazılar” (fugitive writings), which consists of articles and letters penned by 38 imprisoned writers in various prisons across Turkey, was not given to Erol Zavar, one of the writers of the book, who is currently imprisoned in Bolu F Type High Security Closed Prison. The Prison Education Commission reportedly rejected the book on the grounds that it would “endanger the security in the prison institution.”

 

Former MA editor Elif Çetiner sentenced to 1 year, 8 months in prison

 

Elif Çetiner, a former managing editor for Mezopotamya news agency, was sentenced to 1 year, 8 months and 4 days in prison on the charge of “tapping or recording non-public conversations between individuals” (TCK 133/1) at the fourth hearing of her trial, held at Hakkari 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 January 2022.

 

Çetiner was on trial for a report MA published on 19 November 2017, titled “Muhsin Kızılkaya’nın asistanından tehdit: Devletine bağlı olsan HDP’ye binanı vermezdin” (Threat from Muhsin Kızılkaya's assistant: If you were loyal to your state, you wouldn’t lend your building to HDP).

 

Constitutional Court rejects application by journalist Mehmet Güleş

 

The Constitutional Court has rejected the individual application filed by journalist Mehmet Güleş, who claimed that his arrest on account of his journalistic activities violated his freedom of expression.

 

Güleş, a former reporter for Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was detained at the Elazığ Courthouse in December 2016 and subsequently jailed on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda.” He was released on 13 August 2021, after completing a prison sentence of 6 years and 3 months he was given on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization,” which was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

 

Ruling on the application Güleş had filed in 2018 some four years later, on 7 December 2021, the top court held that in the case against Güleş, there was no interference with the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. Rejecting the application for the “terrorism propaganda” charge because it was a repetitive application, the Constitutional Court ruled that Güleş’s application concerning the “membership in a terrorist organization” charge was inadmissible on the grounds that his claims were “unfounded.”

 

At least 60 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 29 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.