Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.
Kavala handed down life in prison, 7 defendants given 18 years in Gezi trial; all defendants acquitted in Bloomberg trial; İbrahim Haskoloğlu released pending trial; arrest warrant issued for Metin Cihan
Kavala handed down life in prison, 7 defendants given 18 years in Gezi trial
The final hearing in the Gezi protests-15 July 2016 coup attempt trial, where 17 defendants including jailed businessperson Osman Kavala were prosecuted, took place on 22 and 25 April 2022 at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court.
Announcing its verdict after the completion of the defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court ruled to acquit and release Osman Kavala of the charge of “espionage,” for which he was held in pre-trial detention for two and a half years, due to the lack of sufficient evidence. The court decided to hand down aggravated life imprisonment to Kavala on the charge of “attempting to overthrow the government” under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), while sentencing defendants Mücella Yapıcı, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Çiğdem Mater, Ali Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi to 18 years each in prison for assisting the offense of “attempting to overthrow the government.” In addition, the court ruled to imprison all seven defendants on the grounds of “the level of the punishment” and that “the imposition of judicial control measures would fail to provide the advantage expected of detention.”
The court also ruled to separate the files against the defendants who resided abroad: Can Dündar, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Henry Jack Barkey, Gökçe Yılmaz, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, Memet Ali Alabora, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and İnanç Ekmekçi. The decision was taken by a majority.
For more details, you can read our news report on the 2-day hearing, monitored by P24.
All defendants acquitted in Bloomberg trial
In the trial of Bloomberg reporters Kerim Karakaya and Fercan Yalınkılıç over a news story published in August 2018 about Turkey’s currency crisis at the time, along with 36 social media users who commented on or shared the said news report on social media, including journalists Merdan Yanardağ, Sedef Kabaş, Mustafa Sönmez and Orhan Kalkan, all defendants were acquitted of all charges.
At the hearing held on 27 April 2022, the prosecutor submitted their final opinion on the case, asking the court to acquit all defendants on the grounds that the legal elements of the impugned crime did not exist. At the end of the hearing, the court accepted the request of the lawyers for the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Capital Markets Board for additional time to prepare their statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, but postponed the trial until 29 April 2022.
At the final hearing held on 29 April 2022 at the İstanbul 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance, BDDK’s lawyer Deniz Kubat argued that Karakaya and Yalınkılıç had damaged the reputation of the BDDK, and asked the court to convict them accordingly. Karakaya and Yalınkılıç’s lawyer, Ömer Bayraktar, recalled that expert opinions on the case concluded that the elements pertaining to the crimes of “market fraud” or “damaging the reputation” did not exist. Bayraktar thus asked the court to acquit Karakaya and Yalınkılıç.
Ruling that the legal elements of the imputed crime did not exist, the court decided to acquit all defendants.
A report on the hearings, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.
İbrahim Haskoloğlu released pending trial
Journalist İbrahim Haskoloğlu, who was arrested after reporting on allegations of data leaks from the e-Government portal and published what appeared to be redacted copies of the official identity cards that belonged to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hakan Fidan, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT), on his social media account, was released pending trial on 27 April 2022.
Haskoloğlu’ lawyer Emrah Karatay announced the news of the journalist’s release from prison on his social media account in a post that read, “Our client has been released as of now as a result of our objection. İbrahim is free now.”
Haskoloğlu was arrested in a late night police raid on his house in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district on 18 April 2022 and was detained pending trial on the charge of “illegally obtaining and disseminating personal data” under Article 136 of the TCK on 19 April 2022 after giving his statement to a criminal judgeship of peace. The investigation against Haskoloğlu on the charge of “illegally obtaining and disseminating personal data” was launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office upon the criminal complaint of the Interior Ministry.
Arrest warrant issued for journalist Metin Cihan
The first hearing in the trial in which journalist Metin Cihan is charged with “insulting a public official due to their duty” under Article 125 of the TCK over a social media post he shared in 2020 was held on 28 April 2022 at the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance. The case was filed upon the complaint of Berat Albayrak, the former Minister of Energy and Natural Sources.
P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Cihan’s lawyer Özgür Urfa. Berat Albayrak was represented by his lawyer. Albayrak’s lawyer requested to join the case as plaintiff, and asked the court to convict Cihan for the alleged crime. In his statement, Cihan’s lawyer Urfa said that the journalist had left the country prior to any investigation launched against him, and that the elements of the alleged crime did not exist due the contested social media post. Urfa also requested the court to acquit Cihan.
Issuing an arrest warrant against Metin Cihan, the court postponed the trial until 18 October 2022.
The social media post Cihan shared in April 2020 read, “When Berat Albayrak’s inbox was published in 2016 on the Wikileaks, this place was fuming. With what? Not with the wire pulling, bribery or corruption and whatnot in its content, but with the purchase of a vibrating ring. It turns out we were quiet the idiots.”
Baransel Ağca’s trial on “degrading religious values” gets underway
The first hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public” under Article 216 of the TCK over his social media posts was held on 26 April 2022 at the İstanbul 43rd Criminal Court of First Instance.
As part of the virtual patrol activities conducted to “prevent cyber crimes,” the Prevention Bureau of the İstanbul Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Unit prepared an 8-page investigation report about Ağca on the allegation that he had shared “criminal posts” on social media.
According to the information obtained by the Expression Interrupted, the Press Crimes Investigation Bureau of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office drafted an indictment against Ağca for “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public” based on the aforementioned investigation report, which included five social media posts Ağca shared on Twitter: four posts about the Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and one post concerning the imputed crime. Issued on 16 September 2021, the indictment cited the social media post Ağca shared on 25 December 2020 on Twitter as the basis of the accusations, excluding the posts about the Interior Minister.
Ağca, who lives abroad, did not attend the hearing. His lawyer, Ziya Ergin, was present in the courtroom. Stating that Ağca’s social media post at issue was incidentally obtained during another investigation launched against Ağca based on his journalistic work, Ergin said, “The authority to conduct virtual patrol has been canceled. Therefore, there is illegally obtained evidence.” Stressing that there was no criminal element in Ağca’s Twitter post, Ergin continued: “Because, the public peace has not been disturbed as a result of the tweet. Until this investigation, there has been no backlash due to this tweet. We demand immediate acquittal.”
Ruling to inquire about Ağca’s residential address in the foreign country where he currently resides to have his statement taken through letters rogatory, the court adjourned the trial until 20 September 2022.
Turkish Cypriot journalist fined for “insulting the president”
The trial of journalist Şener Levent, the editor-in-chief of the Northern Cyprus-based newspaper Avrupa, on the charge of “insulting the president” due to a cartoon depicting President Erdoğan published in the newspaper was concluded in Ankara.
At the final hearing held on 26 April 2022, the Ankara 63rd Criminal Court of First Instance ordered Levent to pay a judicial fine of TL 9,000.
Announcing the court’s verdict on his Facebook account, Levent said that he also stood trial on the same charge in a Northern Cyprus court, which ruled for his acquittal. “There is no such thing in law as a person being tried twice for the same crime,” Levent wrote.
Journalist Can Selman acquitted
The second hearing in the trial of local journalist Can Selman and 15 other defendants who were arrested during a police intervention against the 1st Eskişehir LGBTI+ Pride Parade on 30 June 2021 took place on 26 April 2022 at the Eskişehir 8th Criminal Court of First Instance.
During the hearing, the prosecutor submitted their final opinion on the case, asking the court to acquit all 16 defendants, including Selman, of the charge of “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.” The lawyers for the defendants stated that they agreed with the prosecutor’s final opinion, and requested that a criminal complaint be filed against the law enforcement officers who used disproportionate force against the defendants as evidenced by the footage in the expert opinion, admitted to the case file in between the hearings.
Announcing its decision after the defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion were completed, the court ruled to acquit Selman and other 15 defendants in the case.
Journalist attacked by mayor’s bodyguards during news coverage
Ardıl Batmaz, a reporter for the news portal Gazete Duvar, was assaulted while covering the Elazığ visit of Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Murat Kurum, the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, to inspect the housing project launched by the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) in the aftermath of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the province in 2020.
While covering the ministers’ inspection of the TOKİ housing project in Mustafapaşa Neighborhood, Batmaz filmed the earthquake victims’ less-than-welcoming reaction to Elazığ Mayor Şahin Şerifoğulları from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Mayor Şerifoğulları asked Batmaz to put down his camera, to which Batmaz replied, “I am a journalist.” Şerifoğulları then said, “Who cares if you are a journalist,” upon which the purported bodyguards for the mayor intervened against the journalist in an attempt to prevent him from filming.
Following the incident, Batmaz obtained a medical report proving the physical attack and filed a criminal complaint with the police chief’s office against his attackers, as well as Mayor Şerifoğulları for targeting him.
Journalist arrested while covering protest against the Gezi trial
Hundreds gathered on 26 April 2022 outside the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers in İstanbul’s Beyoğlu district to protest against the harsh convictions handed down in the Gezi trial, leading to 51 arrests, including journalist Umut Taştan.
When journalists protested against Taştan’s arrest and the police interference with their coverage, one police officer reportedly said, “Go and lodge an application with the Constitutional Court.” Following the procedures at the police department, Umut Taştan was released in the early hours of 27 April 2022.
The protesters dispersed of their own accord soon after a public statement, but were denied access to the İstiklal Street. Journalist Eylem Nazlıer, a reporter for the Evrensel newspaper, was also attacked while covering the police intervention against a group of protesters who attempted to access İstiklal Street.
First hearing held in Demokratik Modernite trial
The first hearing in the trial where Ramazan Yurttaban, the responsible managing editor of the quarterly opinion magazine Demokratik Modernite, is charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” over some statements in various articles published in the 34th and 35th issues of the magazine was held on 29 April 2022 at the İstanbul 30th High Criminal Court.
Yurttaban and his lawyers, Özcan Kılıç and Sercan Korkmaz, attended the hearing. In his defense statement, Yurttaban rejected the accusations, claiming that the statements quoted from the articles were taken out of their context. Lawyer Kılıç argued that the indictment cherry-picked remarks and sentences from the articles, and hence, asked the court to reject the indictment, while lawyer Korkmaz stated that the court should consider the 6-month statue of limitations prescribed in the Press Law and dismiss the case.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, stated that a number of lawsuits were filed against several issues of the magazine and asked the court to consider merging the case file with another case, currently overseen by the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court.
Announcing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court decided to ask the 27th High Criminal Court whether they would assent to merging the two case files. Ruling to accept the lawyers’ request to grant Ramazan Yurttaban exemption from attending the hearings, the court adjourned the trial until 28 September 2022.
Journalist Özgür Boğatekin faces investigation
An investigation was launched against Özgür Boğatekin, the news director of the Adıyaman-based local newspaper Gerger Fırat, on the charge of “insulting a public official” under Article 125 of the TCK over a social media post he shared on 10 April 2022, in which he criticized Mardin Governor Mahmut Demirtaş.
On 25 April 2022, Boğatekin gave his statement to the Gerger Police Chief’s Office as part of the ex-officio investigation launched against him by the Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. In his statement, Boğatekin said, “I am a journalist and I made a remark about a current issue.” Boğatekin was released after giving his statement.
Investigation against journalist Fırat Fıstık dismissed
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped an investigation against journalist Fırat Fıstık on the charges of “illegally obtaining and disseminating personal data” and “defamation” over his news reports about Naci İnci, who was appointed as the rector of Boğaziçi University by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“It has been understood that the data concerning the personal information of the complainant was blurred out in the ‘complaint petition’ included in the online news content and that the news report about the investigation falls within the limits of news reporting according to the provisions of the TCK,” the decision by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office read.
In a news report published on 6 October 2021 on the news portal Gerçek Gündem, Fırat Fıstık documented the allegations that Boğaziçi University’s newly appointed rector Prof. Naci İnci had reported the students who participated in protests against his appointment on the university campus to the police. Fıstık’s news report also included Prof. Naci’s complaint petition lodged with the police. According to the report, two students were detained upon Naci’s complaint. Access to Fırat Fıstık’s news report was blocked by the İstanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace. On 13 October 2021, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against Fıstık.
Writer Eşber Yağmurdereli acquitted
The final hearing in the trial in which writer and lawyer Eşber Yağmurdereli was charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) was held on 29 April 2022 at the İstanbul 32nd High Criminal Court.
Yağmurdereli and his lawyers were in attendance. Reiterating their final opinion, submitted to the court at the previous hearing, the prosecutor asked the court to convict Yağmurdereli of the imputed crime.
In his statement, Yağmurdereli’s lawyer, Taylan Tanay, asserted that Yağmurdereli’s statements, the basis of the accusations against him, fell within the scope of freedom of expression. Tanay condemned that a criminal lawsuit was filed against his client based on his speeches from 8 years ago. “It goes to show that this is driven not by legal motivations, but by political motivations. In view of the client’s personality, position, along with the time and place these remarks were uttered, we demand his acquittal,” Tanay said.
When asked for his final remarks, Yağmurdereli said, “I have been involved in the human rights struggle ever since I graduated from the law school 50 years ago; 25 years as a lawyer and 25 years as a defendant. Freedom of expression cannot be punished,” and demanded his acquittal.
In the light the trial and the evidence, the court ruled to acquit Yağmurdereli on the grounds that the elements of the imputed crime did not exist.
Yağmurdereli was on trial for the speeches he delivered at events held in 2013 in Paris and in 2015 in Van.
At least 54 journalists and media workers behind bars
Following the recent release of journalist İbrahim Haskoloğlu pending trial after spending 9 days behind bars, as of 29 April 2022, at least 54 journalists and media workers are in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.
You can see the updated list here.