Journalist Görkem Kınacı acquitted; Supreme Court of Appeals reverses Enis Berberoğlu and Erdem Gül judgment; journalist İsmail Arı questioned on “disinformation” allegation; graphic designer briefly detained for “Thanks to Erdoğan” stickers

 

Journalist Görkem Kınacı acquitted of “inciting hatred and animosity”

 

Evrensel Responsible Managing Editor Görkem Kınacı was acquitted of “inciting hatred and enmity” at the fourth hearing in his trial, held on 4 April 2023 at the Bakırköy 21st Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Presenting their final opinion during the hearing, the prosecutor demanded Kınacı’s acquittal on the grounds that Kınacı’s report was within the scope of freedom of expression. Ruling that the legal elements of the alleged crime were not present, the court ruled for Kınacı’s acquittal.

 

Kınacı was on trial for a report published in December 2018 on the newspaper’s online edition, titled “Sakarya’da ırkçı saldırı: Baba hayatını kaybetti, oğlu tedavi altında” (Racist attack in Sakarya: Father dies, son hospitalized).

 

Supreme Court of Appeals reverses Enis Berberoğlu and Erdem Gül judgment, says both should be sentenced as charged

 

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the judgment rendered in 2019 in the second “MİT trucks” case against opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Enis Berberoğlu and Adalar Mayor Erdem Gül over Cumhuriyet newspaper’s May 2015 coverage of alleged weapons transfer to rebel groups in Syria on trucks operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Gül was Cumhuriyet’s Ankara bureau chief when the report was published.

 

The Chamber held that Berberoğlu and Gül should be sentenced as charged, for “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member.”

 

The final hearing of Gül and Berberoğlu’s trial was held on 15 May 2019. The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court ruled that the charge against Gül should be amended to “violating the confidentiality of an investigation,” but since the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges had expired, the court ruled to dismiss the case against Gül. Concerning Berberoğlu’s file, the court ruled that there was no need to render a separate judgment on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member,” citing a previous sentence handed to Berberoğlu on the charge of “disclosing confidential information relating to the security of the state” in another trial on account of the same Cumhuriyetreport.

 

Supreme Court Prosecutor demands reversal of İsmail Çoban’s sentence

 

The Office of the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals demanded the reversal of the sentence handed to journalist İsmail Çoban, the former responsible managing editor of the now-defunct Azadiya Welat newspaper, on the charge of “terrorism propaganda,” citing the clause, “Expressions of opinion that do not exceed the limits of giving information or that are aimed at criticism do not constitute a crime,” added to TMK 7/2 as part of an amendment introduced in 2019.

 

Finding the objection relevant, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided to review the case file.

 

Çoban was charged with “terrorism propaganda” in two separate indictments issued by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on account of articles published in the 21 February 2014 and 28 May 2014 issues of Azadiya Welat. At the end of his trial, Çoban was sentenced to 2 years, 4 months and 3 days in prison for “terrorism propaganda” by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on account of articles published in the newspaper’s 21 February 2014 issue.

 

Reviewing the appeal filed by Çoban’s lawyer, the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice reversed Çoban’s sentence. Following the reversal judgment, the trial court tried Çoban on account of the newspaper’s 28 May 2014 issue and unanimously ruled to sentence the journalist to two separate judicial fines of TL 20,000.

 

Çoban’s lawyer then took the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals, seeking the reversal of Çoban’s sentence based on the 2019 amendment to TMK 7/2.

Graphic designer briefly detained for “Thanks to Erdoğan” stickers

 

Graphic designer Mahir Akkoyun was taken into custody on suspicion of “insulting the president” and “violating the Law on Announcement and Advertisement Ban” under Election Law

over stickers with images of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 7 April 2023 in İzmir. Akkoyun had pasted the stickers with the message “Have you found this product expensive? Thanks to Erdoğan” on some products at supermarkets.

 

Akkoyun was released on the same day with no judicial control measures.

 

Journalists Ali İmat and İbrahim İmat released from prison

 

Osmaniye-based local journalists Ali İmat and İbrahim İmat were released from the Osmaniye Closed Prison.

 

The İmat brothers were jailed pending trial on 27 February 2023 on the allegation of “publicly disseminating false information” on account of their social media posts regarding claims that tents sent to earthquake survivors were kept by local authorities.

 

DHA reporter briefly detained on “violating secrecy of investigation” allegation

 

The body of 17-year-old Gabonese student Jeannah Danys Dinabongho Ibouanga was found on 26 March near River Filyos in Karabük. DHA reporter Ali Sencer Arslan, who published security camera footage showing Ibouanga shortly before her death, was taken into custody on 4 April on the allegation of “violating the secrecy of an investigation.”

 

Arslan, who was questioned at the Karabük Police Department’s Public Security Branch, said in his statement that he showed the Yalıkent Site manager his journalist ID and that he recorded the security camera footage on his phone with the site manager’s consent. Arslan was released after giving his statement.

 

Detained Demokratik Modernite employee Sema Korkmaz released

 

Demokratik Modernite magazine employee Sema Korkmaz and 17 other people were taken into custody on the allegation of “membership in a terrorist organization” in police raids carried out on 3 April 2023 in Istanbul and İzmir as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

 

On 6 April, Korkmaz gave her statement to the prosecutor, who referred her to a criminal judgeship of peace seeking her imprisonment pending trial. The court released Korkmaz under judicial control measures.

 

Journalist İsmail Arı faces “disinformation” allegation

 

BirGün reporter İsmail Arı gave his statement to a prosecutor on 6 April on the allegation of “publicly disseminating false information” for his report headlined “Ev değil resmen ölüm satıyorlar!” (Death, not home, for sale!).

 

The Press Crimes Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation against Arı upon a complaint filed by the local Güngören Municipality.

 

Arı’s report, published about a week before the deadly earthquakes of 6 February 2023, was about the approval granted by Güngören Municipality for construction on swampy terrain despite the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s objection.

 

Journalist Can Uğur imprisoned for one day for “insulting the president”

 

Cumhuriyet News Director Can Uğur was sent to the Silivri Prison in Istanbul on 5 April for the execution of a previous sentence he had been given on the charge of “insulting the president.” Uğur was released from prison later that day.

 

In January 2022, Uğur was taken into custody on the allegation of “insulting the president” at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul.

 

Journalist Merve Dişli threatened by pro-AKP youth association head

 

Barış Çiftçi, the head of “AK Gençlik Ocakları,” a pro-AKP youth association, threatened journalist Merve Dişli, a reporter for the local newspaper Kocaeli Barış.

 

On 29 March 2023, Dişli reported that Ak Gençlik Ocakları opened a Kocaeli Provincial Directorate in İzmit. Contacting Dişli upon the publication of the story, Çiftçi threatened the journalist, saying he “will make her pay for her report.”

 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on local authorities to investigate the matter and to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Dişli.

 

Local mayor threatens journalist with arrest

 

Mustafa Gültak, the mayor of Akdeniz district of Mersin province, a district governed by the ruling AKP, threatened journalist Muharrem Çağatay, the editor-in-chief of the news portal Mersin Halk Haber, for publishing a report about the mayor’s executive assistant.

 

During a meeting of the City Council, Gültak said: “You will see soon, this reporter will get arrested. He will be taken into custody. Because he is making fake news.”

 

Çağatay reported on allegations that the mayor’s executive assistant had slapped a municipal manager.

 

tv100 reporter suffers attack during scuffle at Good Party poll

 

Sibel Can, a reporter for tv 100, who was covering a survey held on 3 April 2023 by the Good (İyi) Party for prospective candidates to run in Turkey’s upcoming parliamentary elections, suffered an attack during a scuffle between Ankara Deputy Şenol Sunat and Adnan Beker, who is among nominees to run as an İyi Party candidate in the election.

 

Recounting the incident later on a live broadcast, Can said: “We broadcasted under difficult conditions, because we were subjected to an attack. [Attendees] were exchanging taunts and we were trying to record footage and sound. Then, someone whom I think was a party supporter took my phone. I repeatedly stated that I was a press member. They tried to physically interfere with our broadcast.”

 

RTÜK fines Fox TV, Halk TV and Tele 1

 

İlhan Taşcı, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) member elected from the opposition CHP quota, announced that the Council decided to impose 3 percent administrative fines on Fox TV, Halk TV and Tele 1 TV channels.

 

Taşcı said the Council fined Fox TV for prime time news presenter Gülbin Tosun’s commentary criticizing the government’s outlook on women; Halk TV for program host Ayşenur Arslan and program guest Turgut Kazan’s comments about the shortcomings in search and rescue in the aftermath of the 6 February earthquakes; and Tele 1 for Merdan Yanardağ and Emre Kongar’s commentary criticizing the Şanlıurfa Municipality’s decision to transfer aid material they were sent from abroad to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

 

In the meantime, CHP Parliamentary Group Advisor Tuncay Keser replaced Okan Konuralp as the new member of RTÜK elected from the CHP quota following Konuralp’s resignation to run as a candidate in the upcoming elections. Keser received 333 out of 351 votes in the voting held at the Parliament’s General Assembly.

 

AFP photojournalist Bülent Kılıç’s trial for “resisting” violent arrest to begin in October

 

Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, who was violently arrested by the police as he was covering the 19th Istanbul Pride March on 26 June 2021, will stand trial on charges of “resisting [law enforcement] to prevent the performance of their duty” and “insulting a public official.” The Istanbul 19th Criminal Court of First Instance has set 26 October 2023 as the date for the first hearing.

 

During the violent intervention on Mis Sokak in Beyoğlu, police had pushed Kılıç to the ground, cuffed his hands behind his back and one officer had stepped on the journalist’s neck with his knee, preventing him from breathing.

 

A criminal complaint was filed against two of the officers on 4 August 2021 on the allegations of “damage to property” and “intentional injury through excessive use of force.” On 16 March 2023, the prosecutor dropped the investigation against the police officers on the grounds that the elements of the alleged crime were not present and issued the indictment against Kılıç.

 

Court rules for continuation of journalist Sezgin Kartal’s detention

 

The first hearing in Karşı Mahalle reporter Sezgin Kartal’s trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held on 4 April 2023 at the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court.

 

Kartal, who has been jailed pending trial since 13 January 2023, and his lawyers were in attendance.

 

In his defense statement, Kartal rejected the accusation and said his reporting was focused on human rights, adding that he has never made propaganda for any criminal organization.

 

The court also heard imprisoned journalist İbrahim Karakaş as a witness. Addressing the court from the Adana F Type High Security Closed Prison via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS, Karakaş said he did not know Kartal, adding: “I was an employee of the Özgür Gündem newspaper. I have never been to Syria. I was a journalist based in Istanbul. I don’t know where, when and by whom the photo in question was taken.”

 

The prosecutor demanded the continuation of Kartal’s detention, citing “strong suspicion of crime.”

 

Kartal’s lawyer Merve Kurhan said: “[The prosecution] claims that an armed person in the photo allegedly taken in the Kobani region is my client. The photo was found among the digital files of İbrahim Karakaş during a search of his house. Karakaş was heard as a witness and he stated that he did not know the accused. First of all, the original copies of the images are not found in the case file.” Kurhan demanded Kartal’s release pending trial.

 

The court rejected requests for Kartal’s release, citing the presence of “concrete evidence showing strong suspicion of crime” and on the grounds that “judicial control measures will be insufficient.” The court set 22 June 2023 as the date for the second hearing.

 

In the meantime, the police intervened in a press statement held in front of the courthouse ahead of the hearing and detained at least 25 people. The police also blocked journalists from taking photos.

 

Journalist Rüstem Batum’s trial to continue in October

 

The fourth hearing in journalist and TV talk show host Rüstem Batum’s trial on charges of “insulting the president” on account of his social media posts was held on 6 April 2023 at the Istanbul 12th Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Batum’s lawyers attended the hearing.

 

Asserting that their client’s social media posts that are the subject of the accusation should be evaluated in the context of freedom of expression, Batum’s lawyers requested that the court rule for immediate acquittal.

 

The prosecutor requested that the court wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Batum in order for his statement to be taken.

 

The court ruled to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant and adjourned the case until 19 October 2023.

 

Compensation case against Hazal Ocak to continue in June

 

The seventh hearing in a lawsuit filed by former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak against former Cumhuriyet reporter Hazal Ocak was held on 4 April 2023 at the Istanbul 8th Civil Court. Albayrak is seeking TL 200,000 in damages over Ocak’s report titled “Damat İşi Biliyor,” published on 20 January 2020.

 

Lawyers representing Ocak submitted letters of excuse because the judge overseeing the lawsuit was on leave. The court adjourned the case until 13 June 2023.

 

Trial of former Cumhuriyet staffers adjourned until July

 

The eighth hearing in a trial in which former Cumhuriyet staffers Hazal Ocak, Olcay Büyüktaş Akça, İpek Özbey and Vedat Arık are charged with “marking an official assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” and “violating the secrecy of one’s private life” was held on 5 April 2023 at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.

 

The accusations stem from a report by Ocak, published on 14 April 2020. The report claimed that the Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun had commissioned illegal construction work on a plot of land that he had rented from the General Directorate of Foundations near his residence in Istanbul. Following the report, Altun filed a complaint against the newspaper, claiming that “his residence was photographed and his full address was published without permission” and that he was “marked as a target for terrorist organizations.”

 

P24 monitored the hearing. Ocak, Akça, Özbey and Arık attended the hearing accompanied by their lawyers. Fahrettin Altun’s lawyer, who submitted a letter of excuse, did not attend.

 

The prosecutor who was recently appointed to the case requested a continuance to review the case file.

 

Ruling to grant the prosecutor a continuance to review the case file, the court adjourned the trial until 7 July 2023.

 

Journalist Can Dündar’s trial to continue in October

 

The sixth hearing in exiled journalist Can Dündar’s trial on charges of “obtaining information that must be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State, for political or military espionage” and “disclosing information that must be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State, for political or military espionage” was held on 5 April 2023 at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.

 

Dündar and his lawyers did not attend the hearing. Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Dündar and his extradition from Germany, the court set 25 October 2023 as the date for the next hearing.

 

Musician Ferhat Tunç’s trial to continue in September

 

The ninth hearing in musician Ferhat Tunç’s trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” on account of his social media posts was held on 7 April 2023 at the Istanbul 37th High Criminal Court.

 

Tunç and his lawyer did not attend the hearing. Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Tunç, the court adjourned the case until 22 September 2023.

 

Trial of journalists Yurttapan and Estukyan adjourned until June

 

The fourth hearing in a trial in which Demokratik Modernite magazine Responsible Managing Editor Ramazan Yurttapan, Agos newspaper Armenian editor Pakrat Estukyan and three other defendants are charged with “terrorism propaganda” was held on 7 April 2023 at the Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court.

 

P24 monitored the hearing. Estukyan and Yurttapan, who did not attend, were represented by their lawyers.

 

Ruling to wait for the submission of requested documents, the court adjourned the case until 7 June 2023.

 

Trial of journalist Mehmet Baransu to continue in June

 

The ninth hearing in jailed journalist Mehmet Baransu’s trial on the charges of “insulting the president,” “insult,” “insulting a public official” and “libel” was held on 7 April 2023 at the Istanbul 60th Criminal Court of First Instance. Baransu, a former reporter for the now-defunct Taraf newspaper, is on trial on account of an article in which he commented on the judges of the court that acquitted the defendants in the “Balyoz” (sledgehammer) coup plot case.

 

P24 monitored the hearing. Baransu addressed the court from the Silivri Prison via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer was present in the courtroom.

 

In its interim ruling, the court decided to ask the Anadolu 7th Criminal Court of First Instance to deliver the minutes of the latest hearing it held and adjourned the case until 9 June 2023.

 

At least 66 journalists and media workers in prison

 

According to information obtained by Expression Interrupted, journalists Harun Çümen, İbrahim İmat and Ali İmat have been released from prison. With the latest update, as of 8 April 2023 there are at least 66 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

 

The full list can be accessed here.