Four HRDs acquitted in retrial of “Büyükada case”; journalist Mehmet Baransu acquitted in “insult” case; MA reporter Fırat Can Arslan taken into custody; RTÜK fines four TV channels

 

Four rights defenders acquitted in retrial of “Büyükada case”

 

The second hearing in the retrial of four rights defenders in the trial publicly known as the “Büyükada case” was held at the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court on 6 June 2023. The retrial was ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which last year overturned the sentences handed in July 2020 to Taner Kılıç, İdil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran and Günal Kurşun.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, which was attended by Kılıç, Kurşun and the lawyers representing the defendants.

 

The prosecutor submitted their final opinion during the hearing, requesting the acquittals of Kurşun, Eser and Dalkıran of the “aiding a terrorist organization” charge for lack of conclusive evidence. The prosecutor asked the court to sentence Kılıç for “membership in a terrorist organization,” citing records of access from his cell phone to IP addresses used by ByLock -- an app purported to be used exclusively by members of the Fethullah Gülen community.

 

Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court acquitted Kılıç, Kurşun, Eser and Dalkıran of all charges due to lack of conclusive evidence.

 

Journalist Mehmet Baransu acquitted in “insult” case

 

Former Taraf reporter Mehmet Baransu appeared before the Istanbul 60th Criminal Court of First Instance on 9 June 2023 for the 10th hearing in his trial on charges of “insulting the president,” “insult,” “insulting a public official” and “libel” over an article he had penned about the panel of judges who 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 videoconferencing network SEGBİS. President Erdoğan’s lawyer was present in the courtroom.

 

In their final opinion, the prosecutor said the articles subject to the accusations were published in May 2016 but the case was filed in November 2019, requesting that the charges against Baransu be dismissed based on the four-month statute of limitations prescribed in Article 26 of the Press Law.

 

Baransu said he agreed with the prosecutor’s final opinion and requested to be acquitted. Rendering its judgment, the court ruled for Baransu’s acquittal on the grounds that “the act charged to the defendant was not defined as crime in the law.”

 

MA reporter Fırat Can Arslan taken into custody on “propaganda” allegation

 

Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan was taken into custody in a police raid on his home in Ankara on 7 June 2023 as part of an investigation launched in Kırşehir province.

 

Arslan was detained on the allegation of “terrorism propaganda” on account of his social media posts. The journalist was taken to the Ankara Police Department. The police confiscated Arslan’s computer and mobile phone during the search.

 

RTÜK fines 4 TV channels

 

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) fined the TV channels Fox TV, Halk TV, Tele 1 and Flash Haber on account of commentary by program guests and journalists in broadcasts in the run up to the elections.

 

RTÜK member İlhan Taşcı announced on his Twitter account that Halk TV was given a 5 percent administrative fine for allegedly “inciting hatred and animosity” on account of politician Ümit Özdağ’s remarks about Syrian voters in an episode of the morning news show presented by İsmail Küçükkaya.

 

Tele 1 was given a 3 percent administrative fine on account of claims about ballots by Professor Emre Kongar and Merdan Yanardağ in an episode of their show “18 Dakika” and three other 3 percent fines on account of the channel’s broadcasts in the same commercial slot.

 

Flash Haber was given a 3 percent fine on the allegation of “defamation” on account of Democrat Party (DP) Istanbul MP Cemal Enginyurt’s on-air comments criticizing Sinan Oğan joining the People’s Alliance.

 

Former İHD Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan acquitted

 

The Human Rights Association’s (İHD) former Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan appeared before the Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance on 8 June 2023 for the fifth hearing in his trial on charges of “publicly denigrating the State of the Turkish Republic” on account of a statement published on the association’s website on 24 April 2017.

 

The hearing was monitored by numerous rights defenders from Turkey and abroad.

 

Submitting their final opinion during the hearing, the prosecutor requested Türkdoğan’s acquittal because the legal elements of the charged offense were not present.

 

Ruling in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court acquitted Türkdoğan.

 

Journalist Derya Saadet acquitted

 

sendika.org news portal reporter Derya Saadet appeared before the Izmir 18th Criminal Court of First Instance on 8 June 2023 for the second hearing in her trial on charges of “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” and “insulting a public official” for retweeting a Twitter post which announced that a prosecutor had filed a criminal case on charges of “terrorism propaganda” against the father of Deniz Poyraz, who was killed by a gunman in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) provincial building in Izmir in 2021.

 

Saadet addressed the court from Istanbul via the judicial videoconferencing network SEGBİS.

 

Presenting their final opinion, the prosecutor requested that the court sentence Saadet for “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” and acquit the journalist of “insulting a public official.”

 

Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court acquitted the journalist of both charges.

 

Journalist İdris Yılmaz sentenced for “intentional injury”

 

Journalist İdris Yılmaz, who was attacked while trying to report on a coastal road project by the local Erciş Municipality run by a government-appointed trustee, was sentenced to 4 months and 15 days in prison on charges of “intentional injury.”

 

Journalists Yılmaz and Erhan Akbaş were attacked by the contractor Şahin Yağar and his relatives in October 2017 as they were trying to conduct an interview with the contractor. The journalists’ cameras were also broken during the attack. The final hearing in a lawsuit launched after both parties filed complaints against each other was held at the Erciş 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 6 June 2023.

 

Yılmaz, Yağar and the lawyers representing both sides were present in the courtroom.

 

Deeming Yılmaz’s video camera which he was carrying on the day of the incident “a weapon,” the court sentenced Yılmaz to 4 months and 15 days in prison on charges of “intentional injury.” Akbaş was acquitted. The court sentenced the contractor to TL 3,800 in judicial fine and 10 months and 15 days in prison for “intentional injury.”

 

Jailed journalist Safiye Alağaş faces “terror” charge in new indictment

 

JinNews News Manager Safiye Alağaş, who has been jailed pending trial since June 2022, is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” in the indictment against her, recently accepted by the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.

 

The editorial policy of the news agency was held as the grounds for the accusation in the indictment.

 

The first hearing in Alağaş’s trial will be held on 15 June 2023.

 

Journalist Sertaç Kayar faces “insult” charge in new case

 

Journalist Sertaç Kayar is charged with “insult” in a new case launched on account of a report in which he covered corruption allegations regarding publicly funded rehabilitation centers that offer special education to disabled people in Diyarbakır.

 

After Kayar’s report was published on sputniknews.com.tr, the president of the Federation of Special Educational Institutions Associations Yunus Kılıç filed a complaint against the journalist on “insult” and “libel” allegations, claiming that the person referred to in the news story through their initials was him.

 

Upon Kılıç’s complaint, two public prosecutors from the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched separate investigations against the journalist on the allegation of “insult.” While one of the prosecutors eventually dismissed the charge against Kayar, the other prosecutor issued an indictment on 3 March 2023.

 

The indictment was accepted by the Erzincan 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The proceedings will be carried out according to the “simple trial procedure.”

 

21 journalists detained in 2022 lodge application with European Court

 

Twenty-one journalists taken into custody in Diyarbakır on 8 June 2022, among whom 16 are still in pre-trial detention, have filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against their unlawful detention.

 

Resul Temur, the lawyer representing the journalists, said his clients have yet to appear before a judge although a year has passed since their imprisonment pending trial and that the proceedings have turned into a punishment.

 

The journalists are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” in the indictment against them, issued about 10 months after their detention. The first hearing in their trial is scheduled for 11 July 2023.

 

Case against journalist Mansur Çelik adjourned

 

The second hearing in the case against ANKA News Agency Managing Editor Mansur Çelik on charges of “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” was held at the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court on 6 June 2023. Çelik is on trial on account of a report the agency dispatched about judge Akın Gürlek in 2020.

 

Çelik and his lawyers attended the hearing.

 

Ruling to send the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the drafting of their final opinion and ordering the continuation of Çelik’s travel ban, the court adjourned the case until 7 September 2023.

 

Retrial of seven journalists in “FETÖ media case” to continue in October

 

The eighth hearing in the retrial of journalists Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Ünal Tanık, Yakup Çetin and Yetkin Yıldız in the case publicly known as the “FETÖ media trial” was held at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court on 8 June 2023.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by all seven journalists on trial and their lawyers. After hearing two witnesses who testified for Tanık and Çetin, the court adjourned the case until 19 October 2023, awaiting the submission of requested documents.

 

All seven journalists were convicted in 2018 on “terror” charges over alleged ties with the Fethullah Gülen network. Their convictions were overturned in 2020 by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which held that Memiş, Kalyoncu, Çulhaoğlu, Tanık, Çetin and Yıldız should be charged with “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member.”

 

Case against Ramazan Ölçen to continue in October

 

The 11th hearing in the case against former Azadiya Welat concessionaire Ramazan Ölçen was held at the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court on 5 June 2023. Ölçen is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” on account of articles published in the Kurdish language newspaper, which was closed by the government in 2016.

 

Neither Ölçen nor his lawyer attended the hearing. Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued for Ölçen, the court set 2 October 2023 as the date for the next hearing.

 

Case against journalists Yurttapan and Estukyan adjourned until September

 

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

 

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

 

Ruling to issue an arrest warrant for the defendant Mehmet Nimet Sevim for his statement to be taken, the court adjourned the case until 22 September 2023.

 

Prosecutor requests new expert report in Sibel Tekin’s trial

 

Documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin’s trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” resumed on 8 June 2023 at the Ankara 26th High Criminal Court. This was the second hearing in the case.

 

The prosecutor requested that an additional expert report be drafted to determine whether Tekin had deliberately recorded footage of the police vehicles and that the court wait for the submission of the report by the cyber crimes police.

 

Accepting the prosecutor’s request and lifting the judicial control and travel ban measures imposed on Tekin, the court adjourned the case until 3 October 2023.

 

“Insult” case against Ahmet Sever to continue in November

 

The 13th hearing in a case in which journalist Ahmet Sever is charged with “insulting a public official” was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 6 June 2023. The case was filed upon a complaint by former Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank.

 

The court adjourned the case until 2 November 2023.

 

Case against journalist Evrim Kepenek to continue in October

 

The sixth hearing in journalist Evrim Kepenek’s trial on charges of “insult” over her report about a man who is charged with “child abuse” was held at the Selçuk Criminal Court of First Instance on 6 June 2023. The case was filed upon a complaint by a man named Refik Y., who was arrested on the allegation of “child abuse” and later released.

 

No one attended the hearing. The court decided to once again inquire of the Izmir 23rd High Criminal Court about the case overseen by this court and adjourned the case until 10 October 2023.

 

At least 61 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 9 June 2023 there are at least 61 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

 

The full list can be accessed here.