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.
Three more journalists jailed; journalist Sinan Aygül handed prison sentence over his column; journalists assaulted by the police during news coverage; pop star Gülşen sentenced over onstage joke
Journalists Sedat Yılmaz and Dicle Müftüoğlu jailed pending trial
Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-Chair Dicle Müftüoğlu and Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) editor Sedat Yılmaz were taken into custody on 29 April 2023 as part of an investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Yılmaz said he was assaulted by the police in Ankara and he reportedly suffered hearing loss due to a kick he received in his head. Yılmaz and Müftüoğlu were visited by their lawyers following the end of the 24-hour restriction on access to a lawyer that had been imposed on their files. Both journalists said that they were held in handcuffs for 15 hours during their transfer to Ankara by a bus and were not given any food for 24 hours.
Both journalists were jailed pending trial on 3 May by an Ankara criminal judgeship of peace on duty.
ETHA editor Nadiye Gürbüz jailed on “membership in a terrorist organization” allegation
Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor Nadiye Gürbüz was taken into custody on 30 May 2023 in a police raid on her home in Istanbul as part of an investigation against the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP). Gürbüz was jailed pending trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” on 4 May.
Journalist Sinan Aygül sentenced over his column
The Tatvan 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Bitlis Journalists Association President and Bitlis News Editor-in-Chief Sinan Aygül for “trespassing” in a case where the accusation stemmed from an article Aygül published in his column.
Aygül was notified of the court’s 20 April 2023 judgment on 3 May. In the reasoned judgment in writing, the judge sentenced Aygül to 6 months in prison for “illegally entering the workplace of another person.” The court commuted Aygül’s sentence to 4 months and 15 days in prison as per the simple trial procedure.
In his article published on 25 August 2020, Aygül had reported that canned meat normally distributed to poor families by the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) was served to guests in a hotel owned by the Red Crescent Tatvan Office President Battal Taşar and his brother, Cemal Taşar, who is a deputy for Bitlis from the ruling AKP. Following Aygül’s report, an investigation had been launched against the journalist upon a complaint filed by the Taşar family.
Journalists Ferhat Çelik and İdris Yayla sentenced on “terror” charge
The final hearing in Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) Responsible Managing Editor Ferhat Çelik and Jiyan Haber Concessionaire İdris Yayla’s trial on charges of “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” was held on 4 May 2023 at the Van 2nd High Criminal Court.
Çelik and his lawyer did not attend the hearing. Yayla and his lawyer addressed the court from Batman province via the judicial videoconferencing network SEGBİS.
Reiterating their final opinion submitted to court during the previous hearing, the prosecutor requested that the court sentence the journalists as charged.
In his defense statement, Yayla denied the accusation and requested to be acquitted, saying: “In democratic societies, the press not only carries out communication and news reporting activities, it also relays information that is important from a human rights perspective to the public.”
Yayla’s lawyer rejected the prosecutor’s final opinion and requested his client’s acquittal.
Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court sentenced Çelik and Yayla to 1 year and 3 months in prison each for “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target.”
Çelik and Yayla were on trial over a report dispatched by Mezopotamya News Agency on 8 October 2020. It revealed that the prosecutor who ordered the arrests of journalists who had reported on the torture of two villagers while in military custody was the same prosecutor who conducted the investigation against the soldiers involved in the detention of the two villagers.
Pop star Gülşen handed 10-month prison sentence
The fourth hearing in pop singer Gülşen’s trial on charges of “inciting hatred and animosity” over an onstage quip during a concert appearance was held on 3 May 2023 at the Istanbul 11th Criminal Court of First Instance.
P24 monitored the hearing. Gülşen, who did not attend the hearing, was represented in the court by her lawyers.
The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion submitted to the court during the previous hearing in the case held on 1 March 2023 and requested that the court sentence the singer as charged.
Ruling that the singer’s remark had “publicly degraded a section of the public based on social class, race, religion, sect, gender or regional differences,” the court sentenced Gülşen to 10 months in prison. The court deferred the sentence.
For further information see our report.
Jailed journalist Safiye Alağaş faces “terror” charge in new case
JinNews News Manager Safiye Alağaş, who was detained along with 15 other journalists in June 2022 and has since been jailed pending trial, is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” in a new indictment against her.
Alağaş’s trial will begin on 25 June at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. The journalist’s coverage of human rights violations, torture and press statements are held as evidence against her in the indictment.
Police detain journalists during press statement
A group of journalists who gathered in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district on 29 April 2023 to make a press statement in support of fellow press members recently detained and jailed in operations conducted in Diyarbakır and Ankara were taken into custody by the police.
The police attacked the group right after the journalists held up signs that read “free press cannot be silenced” and “we will not remain silent.”
Numerous journalists covering the demonstration were also violently removed from the area by the police.
Detained journalists Pınar Gayıp, Zeynep Kuray, Eylem Nazlıer, Serpil Ünal, Esra Soybir and Yadigar Aygün were released later on the same day.
Police assault journalists covering election rally
Police intervened in an election rally organized by the Party of Greens and the Left Future (YSP) in Istanbul’s Bağcılar Square on 30 April 2023. Thirteen people were detained by the police. The police also assaulted the journalists covering the rally.
“Propaganda” case against Cihan Ölmez adjourned until October
The sixth hearing in the trial against journalist Cihan Ölmez on charges of “terrorism propaganda” was held on 2 May 2023 at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.
Neither Ölmez nor his lawyers attended. Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Ölmez, the court adjourned until 26 October 2023.
“Insult” case against Metin Cihan to continue in September
The fourth hearing in journalist Metin Cihan’s trial on charges of “insulting a public official” was held at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance on 4 May 2023. The case was launched following a complaint filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak.
Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Cihan, the court adjourned the case until 26 September 2023.
GÖÇİZDER case adjourned until October
The second hearing in a trial in which 23 human rights defenders, including several executives of the Migration Monitoring Association (GÖÇİZDER) and a social service expert from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 3-4 May 2023.
The hearing was held in a courtroom inside the Silivri Prison complex due to the large number of defendants and defense attorneys. All 23 defendants as well as lawyers from the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), representatives from TİHV and members of Hafıza Merkezi and numerous lawyers attended the hearing.
Rejecting the defendants and their lawyers’ requests to hear witnesses and to issue inquiries to various institutions, the court adjourned the case until 12 October 2023.
Journalist Evrim Kepenek’s trial to continue in June
The fifth hearing in a case in which journalist Evrim Kepenek is charged with “insult” for reporting about a man who is accused of child abuse was held at the Selçuk Criminal Court of First Instance in Izmir on 2 May 2023. The case was adjourned until 6 June 2023 because the judge overseeing the case was on leave.
Prosecutor dismisses investigation against journalist Emre Orman
An investigation against journalist Emre Orman on the allegations of “publicly degrading the military,” “fabricating an offense” and “spreading false information” was dismissed by the public prosecutor. Orman was being investigated over his coverage of a statement issued by the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) concerning the murder of Ahmet Güreşçi by torture at a gendarmerie station.
In their decision dated 2 May 2023, the public prosecutor held that the act subject to the accusations was within the scope of freedom of the press and that the legal elements of the crimes were not present and that therefore there was no need for a prosecution.
Özgür Gündem case to continue in September
A trial in which the now-defunct Özgür Gündem newspaper’s former Co-Editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol, Responsible Editor Reyhan Çapan and columnists Hasan Başak and Kemal Yakut are charged with “terrorism propaganda” and “praising a criminal offense or an offender” resumed at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 2 May 2023. The accusations stem from articles about self-determination that were published in the newspaper in March 2016.
P24 monitored the hearing, which marked the 27th since the beginning of the case. Neither the defendants nor their lawyers were in attendance.
Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrants issued for Yakut and Başak, the court adjourned the case until 14 September 2023.
Retrial of journalist Zafer Arapkirli to continue in November
Journalist Zafer Arapkirli appeared before the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 3 May 2023 for the second hearing in his retrial on “insult” charge on account of a social media post in which he had criticized Islamic preacher Nureddin Yıldız for his remarks over “child marriage.”
P24 monitored the hearing, where Arapkirli and his lawyers were in attendance. The hearing was held at the courtroom of the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court since the seating capacity in the original courtroom was inadequate.
In his defense statement, Arapkirli rejected the accusation and requested to be acquitted, saying: “I do not know the accuser. I had no intention of personally insulting him. My point was to object against the exploitation of children.” Arapkirli added that he rejected the reversal of his acquittal in the original trial by a regional court of justice.
Arapkirli’s lawyers requested that the trial court reject the appellate court’s remand order and reissue its acquittal judgment.
The prosecutor requested that as per the reversal judgment by the appellate court the file be sent to an expert to determine the dates of the plaintiff Yıldız’s remark, in which he said “a 6- or 7-year-old boy or a girl can get married,” and Arapkirli’s social media post in which he reacted to Yıldız’s comment.
Arapkirli’s lawyers said that the date of the alleged offense and the date of the complaint against their client were clearly stated in the case file and therefore there was no need for an expert opinion, asking the court to reject the prosecutor’s request.
The judge stated that unlike those rendered by the Supreme Court of Appeals, reversal judgments rendered by regional courts of justice were binding and cannot be rejected by lower courts. Ruling to send the case file to an expert to determine the exact dates of the social media posts in question, the judge set 29 November 2023 as the date for the next hearing.
Arapkirli, who stood trial for criticizing Yıldız’s 2016 remark that “6-year-old children could get married” on his social media account, was acquitted on 26 December 2019 in the original case. Reviewing the objection by Yıldız’s lawyers against Arapkirli’s acquittal, a regional court of justice reversed the trial court’s acquittal judgment and remanded the case to the trial court.
Case against journalists Eylem Sonbahar, Sema Karakurt and Metin Cihan adjourned
The 17th hearing in a case in which journalists Eylem Sonbahar, Sema Karakurt and Metin Cihan are charged with “resisting law enforcement officers to prevent the performance of their duty” was held on 3 May 2023 at the Antalya 25th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The hearing was attended by some of the lawyers representing the defendants. In its interim ruling, the court decided to wait for the submission of requested documents and adjourned the case until 4 October 2023.
The journalists were taken into custody while covering protests against the G20 summit held in Antalya on 15 November 2015. The indictment against them was issued on 30 June 2016.
Journalist Abdullah Kaya’s trial adjourned until September
The 22nd hearing in journalist Abdullah Kaya’s trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held on 4 May 2023 at the Ağrı 2nd High Criminal Court. Kaya is a former reporter for the now-defunct Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which was closed under a statutory decree issued in 2016.
Kaya and his lawyers did not attend the hearing. Ruling to wait for the delivery of requested documents, the court adjourned the case until 19 September 2023.
Turkey ranks 165th in RSF World Press Freedom Index
Turkey ranked 165th among 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, down some 16 levels from its 149th spot in last year’s list. Compiled and published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the index now ranks Turkey among countries in a “difficult situation” regarding press freedom.
At least 71 journalists and media workers in prison
Following the imprisonment of journalists Sedat Yılmaz, Dicle Müftüoğlu and Nadiye Gürbüz, as of 5 May 2023 there are at least 71 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.
The full list can be accessed here.