Expression Interrupted

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.

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 404

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 404

Tele 1 TV’s Merdan Yanardağ jailed pending trial; poet Ahmet Telli given 10-month prison sentence; former Cumhuriyet journalists acquitted; journalist Kadir Bayram detained in police raid

 

Tele 1 TV Chief Editor Merdan Yanardağ jailed pending trial

 

Tele 1 TV Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was taken into custody on 26 June 2023 on account of his televised commentary regarding PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. On 27 June, Yanardağ was brought to the Istanbul Courthouse, where he gave his statement to the public prosecutor on the allegations of “praising a crime or a criminal offender” and “terrorism propaganda.” Seeking his imprisonment pending trial, the prosecutor referred Yanardağ to the Istanbul 7th Criminal Judgeship of Peace, which jailed the journalist.

 

Filing an objection against Yanardağ’s imprisonment, his lawyer asserted that Yanardağ’s imprisonment was unlawful and requested the lifting of the arrest order. The objection was rejected on 5 July.

 

In a related development, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) decided to impose on Tele 1 a record seven-day broadcast suspension penalty and an additional 5 percent administrative fine on account of Yanardağ’s commentary, which allegedly “praised Abdullah Öcalan, denigrated the judiciary, and incited the public to hatred and animosity.”

 

Poet Ahmet Telli given 10-month prison sentence

 

Poet Ahmet Telli appeared before the Ankara 26th High Criminal Court on 4 July 2023 for the third hearing in his trial on charges of “terrorism propaganda” on account of a speech he delivered and a poem he recited from one of his books during a press statement in 2017.

 

In his defense statement, Telli told the court that he had participated in the press statement in an act of intellectual responsibility, adding: “My intention was to recite my poem. [The prosecution] is claiming that I made ‘terrorism propaganda’ in a poem from my book ‘Dövüşen Anlatsın,’ which has marked its 26 edition. As an intellectual, I got involved in social matters before. This is my responsibility.”

 

Requesting his client’s acquittal, Telli’s lawyer reminded the court that in separate cases filed against the 75 people who took part in the 2017 demonstration, no one was sentenced: “None of the courts sentenced this press statement for ‘terrorism propaganda.’”

 

Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court sentenced Telli to 10 months in prison. The court suspended the sentence.

 

Former Cumhuriyet journalists acquitted

 

The ninth hearing in a trial in which former Cumhuriyet journalists Hazal Ocak, Olcay Büyüktaş Akça, İpek Özbey and Vedat Arık were 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 at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 7 July 2023.

 

The court acquitted all four journalists on the grounds that the legal elements of the alleged crimes were not present.

 

The accusations stemmed from an April 2020 report by Ocak, titled “Boğaz’da Kaçak Var (Illegal [construction] on the Bosporus). Ocak’s report claimed that the Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun had commissioned illegal construction work on a plot of land near his residence in Istanbul that he had rented from the General Directorate of Foundations.

 

Journalist Baransel Ağca acquitted

 

The fourth hearing in journalist Baransel Ağca’s trial on charges of “defamation" for disclosing the autopsy report of Yeldana Kaharman was held at the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 July 2023. Kaharman was a foreign journalism student who was found dead in her home in Elazığ province in 2019.

 

Reiterating their final opinion first submitted to the court on 13 June 2023, the prosecutor demanded Ağca’s acquittal, stating that Ağca’s remarks about the forensic specialist who issued Kaharman’s autopsy report did not constitute the crime of “libel” but that they could be the subject of a compensation case.

 

The lawyers representing the complainant objected and requested that Ağca be sentenced. Ağca’s lawyer said his client’s social media posts subject to the accusation were part of his journalistic work and requested Ağca’s acquittal.

 

Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the court acquitted Ağca because the legal elements of the alleged offense were not present.

 

Journalist Kadir Bayram taken into custody in police raid

 

Journalist Kadir Bayram was taken into custody in a police raid on his home in Diyarbakır province on 4 July 2023. Bayram was among 15 people detained in police raids carried out across Diyarbakır on 4 July.

 

The reason for Bayram’s detention was not disclosed. After their statements were taken at the Diyarbakır Police Department, Bayram and 14 other detainees were released on the evening of 6 July.

 

Bayram was also taken into custody along with 19 other journalists in Diyarbakır on 8 June 2022. While 16 of the journalists were jailed pending trial a week later, Bayram and three other journalists were released under judicial control measures.

 

Journalist Emre Orman detained with hands cuffed behind his back

 

Journalist Emre Orman announced on his Twitter account that he was taken into custody in Istanbul’s Sarıgazi district for performing his job as a journalist. Orman tweeted on 2 July that the police cuffed his hands behind his back. Orman said he was released after his statement was taken.

 

Journalist Mehmet Yetim detained over social media post

 

Journalist Mehmet Yetim was taken into custody on 26 June 2023 on account of a social media post he had shared. Announcing his detention on social media, Yetim said he was released after giving his statement at the Siverek Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 27 June.

 

Jailed journalist Abdurrahman Gök faces “terror” charges in new case

 

Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) editor Abdurrahman Gök, who has been jailed pending trial since April, is charged with “terrorism propaganda” and “membership in a terrorist organization” in the case filed against him. Gök is accused over his journalistic work in the indictment, which also cites Gök’s social security premiums paid by MA among evidence against the journalist.

 

Gök’s trial will begin on 14 September 2023 at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.

 

Journalist Sıddık Güler questioned on “disinformation” allegation

 

Serhat News Editor-in-Chief Sıddık Güler gave his statement to the Van Police Department’s Security Branch on 5 July 2023 on the allegation of “spreading untrue information.” Güler was called in for questioning on account of the news portal’s 19 June 2023 coverage of allegations of assault at the Van Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.

 

The allegation that Van Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Erol Uslu had assaulted Deputy Director Şenay İvelik Dönmez was covered by the media in June. Dönmez filed a criminal complaint against Uslu, who denied the allegations.

 

Retrial of journalist Hayri Demir gets underway

 

The retrial of journalist Hayri Demir on charges of “terrorism propaganda” got underway at the Ankara 15th High Criminal Court on 5 July 2023. The retrial was ordered by the 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice, which reversed the judgment rendered in the original trial.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, where Demir was in attendance. The journalist’s lawyer could not attend due to medical reasons.

 

The court decided to ask the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to revoke the confidentiality order imposed on the investigation against Demir on the allegation of “membership in a terrorist organization” and to send the relevant sections of the documents to the court. The next hearing is scheduled for 25 October 2023.

 

For further information, see our report.

 

Case against 11 journalists to continue in October

 

The second hearing in a case in which 11 journalists are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on 5 July 2023.

 

The journalists on trial are Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) Managing Editor Diren Yurtsever, MA Ankara News Manager Deniz Nazlım, MA reporters Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Ceylan Şahinli and Zemo Ağgöz, former MA intern reporter Mehmet Günhan and JinNews reporters Habibe Eren and Öznur Değer. Nine of the journalists, who were jailed pending trial in October 2022, were released at the first hearing in the case, held on 16 May 2023. Ağgöz and Günhan were released earlier.

 

P24 monitored the hearing. Nazlım, Güzelyüz, Günhan, Yalçın and Ağgöz and their lawyers were in attendance. The journalists requested that their digital equipment confiscated during the investigation be returned. They also requested exemption and the lifting of their judicial control measures.

 

The court rejected the requests and adjourned the case until 26 October 2023.

 

For further information, see our report.

 

Case against Rüstem Batum to continue in December

 

The 20th hearing in journalist Rüstem Batum’s trial on charges of “publicly denigrating the State’s military and security forces” was held on 7 July 2023 at the Istanbul 43rd Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Batum, who did not attend, was represented by his lawyer.

 

Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Batum, the court adjourned the case until 19 December 2023.

 

The accusation stems from Batum’s remarks in a program hosted by journalist Ayşegül Doğan on the now-defunct IMC TV on 10 September 2015.

 

Case against Osman Akın and Veysi Sarısözen to continue in December

 

The 14th hearing in the case against journalists Osman Akın and Veysi Sarısözen on charges of “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 4 July 2023.

 

Ruling to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant for Sarısözen, the court adjourned the case until 5 December 2023.

 

Case against journalist Yağmur Kaya and 51 Boğaziçi University students adjourned

 

The third hearing in a case in which journalist Yağmur Kaya and 51 Boğaziçi University students are charged with “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Istanbul 17th Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 July 2023.

 

The case was adjourned until a later date because the judge overseeing the case was on leave.

 

Case against 46 people detained in police intervention targeting Saturday Mothers adjourned

 

The 10th hearing in a trial in which 46 people, including relatives of the disappeared, rights defenders, and journalist Koray Kesik, are charged with “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 July 2023. The 46 people on trial were detained by the police during the 700th weekly gathering by the Saturday Mothers/People.

 

The case was adjourned until a later date because the judge overseeing the case was on leave.

 

Case against journalist Zeynep Kuray to continue in January

 

The fourth hearing in a case in which journalist Zeynep Kuray and nine other defendants are charged with “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” was held at the Istanbul 39th Criminal Court of First Instance on 4 July 2023.

 

Accepting letters of excuse submitted by the lawyers representing the defendants, the court adjourned the case until 25 January 2024.

 

Kuray is on trial for covering a demonstration organized in May 2019 for imprisoned former HDP MP Leyla Güven, who was on a hunger strike at the time.

 

At least 58 journalists and media workers in prison

 

Following Merdan Yanardağ’s imprisonment pending trial on 27 June, as of 7 July 2023 there are at least 58 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

 

The full list can be accessed here.

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