Barış Pehlivan going back to jail; “disinformation” charges against journalist İsmail Arı dropped; Constitutional Court annuls “deferral of sentence” procedure; sentences of 5 journalists in Özgür Gündem trials upheld

 

Supreme Court upholds sentences of 5 journalists in Özgür Gündem trials

 

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals rendered its judgments regarding two separate Özgür Gündem cases, upholding sentences given to five journalists and overturning those given to the rest of the defendants.

 

In its judgment rendered on 14 June 2023, regarding the case against journalists who participated in the Özgür Gündem “Editor-in-Chief on Duty” campaign, the Chamber upheld the sentences given to Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran on the charge of “terrorism propaganda.”

 

Ruling that the sentence given to Mehmet Ali Çelebi for “terrorism propaganda” on account of his article published in Özgür Gündem on 25 April 2016 was unlawful, the Chamber overturned the sentence and held that Çelebi should have been acquitted. The Chamber also overturned the sentence given to columnist Hüseyin Bektaş on the grounds that his right to defense had been restricted because his last word was not asked during the final hearing. The Chamber also overturned the sentence given to the newspaper’s Co-Editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol because the trial court had failed to take into account whether other criminal cases or investigations based on similar facts had been launched against him and to seek a joinder of these files.

 

At the final hearing of that case, held in January 2018, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court sentenced Aykol to 3 years and 9 months and Bektaş, Düzkan, Çelebi and Duran to one year in prison each. Ruling that the crime had been committed via the press, the court increased the sentences by six months and did not suspend the sentences. The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, reviewing the appeal filed by the newspaper’s lawyers, upheld the sentences in November 2018 with no possibility of further appeal. A law enacted on 24 October 2019 enabled further appeal against prison sentences under five years, upon which Özcan Kılıç, the lawyer representing Düzkan, Aykol and Çelebi, filed separate appeals with the Supreme Court of Appeals against the sentences.

 

In its other judgment, rendered on 31 May 2023, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the sentences given to Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Tahir Temel and Hüseyin Güçlü on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” while overturning the sentences of Hüseyin Aykol, Ayşe Batumlu Kaya, Reyhan Çapan and Eren Keskin on the grounds that despite the presence of other criminal cases based on similar facts against these defendants the trial court had issued its judgment without examining or considering a joinder of those files against these defendants.

 

The final hearing of that case, in which Özgür Gündem executives and columnists were charged with “terrorism propaganda” and “incitement to commit crimes” on account of articles published in the newspaper, was held at the Istanbul 14ht High Criminal Court on 21 May 2019. The trial court sentenced Ayşe Batumlu Kaya and Reyhan Hacıoğlu to 1 year and 3 months in prison each, Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to 3 years and 9 months each, Hüseyin Aykol to 2 years and 1 month, Hüseyin Güçlü and Tahir Temel to 1 year and 6 months each for “terrorism propaganda.” The sentences of Hacıoğlu and Kaya were suspended under Article 51/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The lawyers representing the journalists appealed against the sentences. Reviewing the appeal, the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice upheld the sentences on 16 March 201, upon which the lawyers took the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals.

 

Journalist Ertan Çıta detained while covering press statement in Tunceli

 

A press statement in support of Saturday Mothers/People planned to be held in Tunceli province on 29 July 2023 by the Dersim branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) was banned by the Governor’s Office.

 

Citing the decision by the Governor’s Office, the police barred demonstrators from making the press statement. During the intervention, seven people, including Yeni Demokrasi newspaper reporter Ertan Çıta, were detained by the police.

 

Çıta and the other detainees were released after their statements were taken at the police department.

 

“Disinformation” charges against journalist İsmail Arı dropped

 

Two separate investigations launched against BirGün reporter İsmail Arı on the allegation of “disseminating false information” on account of his reports have been dropped by the public prosecutor conducting the investigations.

 

Arı was facing separate investigations for his two reports: one about claims that arsenic had been detected in mineral water bottled and sold by the Turkish Red Crescent, and the other about the approval granted by the local Güngören Municipality in Istanbul for construction on swampy terrain.

 

The Press Crimes Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped the investigation launched against Arı upon a complaint filed by the Güngören Municipality because the legal elements of the alleged offense were not present.

 

In the investigation launched on account of Arı’s report headlined “Halkı zehirlemişler” (they poisoned the people), about claims that the supermarket chain Migros had detected arsenic in mineral water bottled and sold by the Turkish Red Crescent in 2019, the public prosecutor decided that the report did not constitute the crime of “disseminating false information.” The prosecutor also rejected the Red Crescent’s request for Arı’s report to be blocked for access because they could directly file a petition with a criminal judgeship of peace and also have BirGün publish a correction.

 

Constitutional Court annuls “deferral of sentence” procedure

 

The Constitutional Court annulled the first sentence of paragraph (5) of Article 231 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), the provision enabling the “deferral of a sentence” (“HAGB” -- suspending the pronouncement of a judgment), applicable in cases where an accused person was sentenced to a maximum of two years imprisonment or a judicial fine.

 

The Court held that the provision was “unconstitutional on the grounds that the decision to suspend the pronouncement of the judgment did not provide an adequate remedy for the damage sustained by the victims; led to the impunity of the perpetrators; and caused the State to fail in its obligation to protect and develop the corporeal and spiritual existence of the individual.”

 

The application seeking the annulment of the provision had been filed by the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The top court’s decision, taken at its session held on 1 June 2023 and published in the Official Gazette on 1 August 2023, will enter into force on 1 August 2024 -- one year after its publication in the Official Gazette.

 

Court revokes decision suspending RTÜK’s broadcast penalty for Tele 1

 

An administrative court in Ankara revoked the Ankara 4th Administrative Court’s stay of execution decision regarding a seven-day broadcast suspension penalty given by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to Tele1 TV on account of Merdan Yanardağ’s televised commentary.

 

The court revoked the stay of execution decision upon RTÜK’s objection. Accordingly, Tele 1’s broadcast suspension penalty will be implemented from 6-12 August 2023.

 

On 6 July 2023, RTÜK decided to impose on Tele 1 a record seven-day broadcast suspension penalty, an additional five-time program suspension penalty, and two 5 percent administrative fines on account of Yanardağ’s commentary, which is also held as the grounds for his ongoing pre-trial detention.

 

Tele 1’s application seeking the postponement of the execution of the RTÜK decision had been accepted unanimously by the Ankara 4th Administrative Court, which had also given RTÜK 30 days to submit their defense statement.

 

Journalist Hasan Sivri to stand trial for video of earthquake ruins

 

Journalist Hasan Sivri is charged with “disseminating false information” in a new indictment where the accusation stems from footage Sivri recorded in Hatay province in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes of 6 February 2023 and shared on his social media account on 25 February.

 

The indictment issued by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the evidence was collected by the Ankara Police Department through “cyber patrolling.”

 

The indictment stated: “It is understood from the entirety of the file that the suspect had committed the crime of publicly disseminating false information by commenting and sharing misleading information that can be seen by an undetermined number of people on his social media account.”

 

The first hearing of Sivri’s trial is scheduled for 12 December 2023 at a criminal court of first instance in Ankara.

 

Diren Yurtsever gives statement in investigation launched upon complaint by power company

 

Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) Managing Editor Diren Yurtsever found out this week that an arrest warrant had been issued against her upon a complaint filed by the power distribution company DEDAŞ on account of a report dispatched by MA about the local power supplier.

 

Yurtsever found out about the arrest warrant issued by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office during a recent visit in Tunceli province. On 4 August, Yurtsever went to the Tunceli Courthouse and gave her statement via the judicial videoconferencing network SEGBİS. She left the courthouse after giving her statement.

 

105-year-old local newspaper closed due to financial and political conditions

 

The Yeni Adana newspaper, a local newspaper first published in 1918, ended its 105-year run on 31 July 2023, citing “financial and political conditions.”

 

An editorial published in the last issue of the newspaper read: “At this point, Yeni Adana has also had its share in the struggle for the survival of the local press. As the Yüreğir family, we see that it is no longer possible for our newspaper to continue its publication.”

 

Cumhuriyet columnist Barış Pehlivan to go to prison for fifth time

 

Cumhuriyet columnist Barış Pehlivan announced in his regular column on 2 August 2023 that he may soon go back to prison for eight months to serve the remainder of the prison sentence of 3 years and 9 months he was given in 2020 over Odatv’s coverage of the funeral of a National Intelligence Organization (MİT) operative killed in Libya.

 

Pehlivan, who remained behind bars for six months in 2020 as part of the case, was briefly arrested and sent to prison on 15 February 2022 upon the finalization of his sentence by the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, which upheld the convictions and acquittal decisions rendered by the trial court. Pehlivan was released under probation later that day.

 

According to the terms of Pehlivan’s probation, merely the filing of a new case against him during his supervision period would amount to a violation of his probation.

 

A new “insult” case filed against Pehlivan on account of an article he penned for Cumhuriyet is now being cited as the grounds for the probation violation, requiring Pehlivan to go back to prison.

 

Pehlivan wrote that an objection filed by his lawyer against the decision for his imprisonment had been rejected. Pehlivan added that he will be required to surrender to the Marmara (formerly Silivri) Prison on 15 August if another motion filed by his lawyer with the Bakırköy 5th Enforcement Judgeship, seeking to benefit from a new probation law enacted on 31 July 2023, also gets rejected.

 

Pehlivan’s lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz stated on his social media account on 4 August that a petition he had submitted for Pehlivan to benefit from the latest probation regulation was sent to the Marmara Open Prison Institution by the Magistrate, and the prison management responded: “The request was denied because the conditions of probation were not met.” Ersöz wrote: “There is no mention of the Provisional Article 10 of the Law No. 7456, which came into force on 15 July. This means that the prison management ignored the conditions of implementation of this law and decided not to apply it to Barış Pehlivan.”

 

Journalists Barış Pehlivan, Barış Terkoğlu, Hülya Kılınç, Ferhat Çelik, Aydın Keser and Murat Ağırel were jailed pending trial in March 2020 for allegedly “violating Article 27 of the MİT Law” through news coverage and social media posts about the funeral of the intelligence officer who was killed in Libya.

 

The indictment issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office charged all six journalists -- as well as Akhisar Municipality press officer Eren Ekinci, who allegedly shared photos from the MİT officer’s funeral with Kılınç, and self-exiled journalist Erk Acarer -- with “disclosure of information that must be kept confidential for reasons relating to the security, or domestic or foreign political interests of the State” and “disclosing the contents of documents and information concerning intelligence operations.”

 

Terkoğlu, Çelik and Keser were released pending trial at the first hearing of the case, held on 24 June 2020.

 

At the second and final hearing of the case, held on 9 September 2020, the Istanbul 34th High Criminal Court acquitted Terkoğlu and Ekinci of all charges while sentencing Pehlivan and Kılınç to 3 years and 9 months and Çelik, Keser and Ağırel to 4 years, 8 months and 7 days in prison each for “Disclosing the contents of documents and information concerning intelligence operations.” Kılınç, Pehlivan and Ağırel were released pending appeal based on the time they spent in pre-trial detention. The file against Acarer was separated.

 

Jailed journalist Merdan Yanardağ’s lawyers file application with Constitutional Court

 

The lawyers representing Tele 1 TV Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ filed an application with the Constitutional Court on 3 August 2023, requesting the revoking of the decision for his imprisonment pending trial. So far, all objections filed against Yanardağ’s pre-trial detention have been rejected.

 

Yanardağ was jailed on the allegation of “terrorism propaganda” on 27 June 2023 on account of his televised commentary in an episode of his regular show on Tele 1. Yanardağ is charged with “terrorism propaganda” and “praising a crime and a criminal offender” in the indictment against him, issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and accepted by the Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court.

 

Objection against MA reporter Fırat Can Arslan’s detention rejected

 

An objection filed against the pre-trial detention of Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan has been rejected.

 

Arslan was taken into custody as part of an investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and subsequently arrested on the allegation of “marking a public official assigned with the fight against terrorism as a target” on 25 July 2023.

 

Arslan was among five journalists taken into custody for sharing on social media a report about the recent relocations of the public prosecutor who issued the indictment against 18 journalists arrested in Diyarbakır in June 2022, and his wife, who was a judge on the panel of the high criminal court overseeing the case against the journalists.

 

The other four journalists taken into custody along with Arslan, T24 editor Sibel Yükler, MA reporter Delal Akyüz, bianet editor Evrim Kepenek and freelance journalist Evrim Deniz, were released under judicial control measures.

 

6 reporters detained for protesting arrest of fellow journalists to stand trial

 

Etkin News Agency (ETHA) reporter Pınar Gayıp, direnişteyiz.org reporter Esra Soybir, Evrensel reporter Eylem Nazlıer, ANF reporter Zeynep Kuray, Mücadele Birliği reporter Serpil Ünal and Gazete Patika reporter Yadigar Aygün are charged with “violating the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations” in a new case that is set to get underway in Istanbul on 10 January 2024.

 

The six journalists were detained while making a press statement in front of the Süreyya Opera House in Istanbul on 29 April 2023 to protest the detention and arrest of fellow journalists.

 

The case will be overseen by the Istanbul Anadolu 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Journalist Neşe İdil charged with “terrorism propaganda” in new case

 

Journalist Neşe İdil is charged with “terrorism propaganda” in a new case launched against her on account of her social media posts. Several Twitter posts İdil shared since 2015 are held as evidence against the journalist in the indictment, which was recently accepted by the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court. The first hearing of İdil’s trial will be held on 16 November 2023.

 

Indictment against Dicle Müftüoğlu and Sedat Yılmaz sent back to prosecutor’s office

 

An indictment recently issued against jailed journalists Dicle Müftüoğlu and Sedat Yılmaz and 47 other people has been sent back to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office by the Ankara 28th High Criminal Court.

 

Due to a confidentiality order imposed on the file, no information could be obtained as to why the indictment was sent back to the prosecutor.

 

Müftüoğlu, the co-chairperson of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) and an editor for Mezopotamya News Agency (MA), and MA editor Yılmaz are among the five detained defendants in the file. They were among 19 people taken into custody in police raids carried out across 15 cities on 29 April 2023. After spending four days in custody, Müftüoğlu and Yılmaz were jailed pending trial on the allegation of “membership in a terrorist organization” on 3 May 2023.

 

Journalists covering Akbelen protest pepper sprayed by soldiers

 

On 2 August 2023, gendarmerie forces once again intervened in the protest against the cutting of trees in the Akbelen Forest in the Milas district of the Muğla province for the expansion of a nearby coal mine. One person was taken into custody during the intervention. Journalists covering the protest were pepper sprayed by the soldiers.

 

Journalist Zeynep Kuray announced that on 3 August, as she was leaving the area where the Akbelen protests are organized, she was called in to the Milas District Gendarmerie Command for questioning.

 

At least 44 journalists and media workers in prison

 

As of 4 August 2023 there are at least 44 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

 

The full list can be accessed here.