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.
Merdan Yanardağ found guilty and released; Ayşenur Arslan detained, RTÜK fines channel; Ahmet Kanbal detained during house raid; 2 journalists acquitted
Merdan Yanardağ handed jail term and released
The first hearing in the trial of Tele 1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” and “praising an offense or an offender” was held at the İstanbul 30th High Criminal Court on 4 October 2023. Yanardağ had been arrested on the grounds of a statement he made on a TV program.
At the hearing, which P24 monitored, Yanardağ in his defense statement rejected the impugned charges. Yanardağ said, “This case has been filed so that the repressive authority that wants to destroy the freedom of the press and expression can scare and intimidate people” and added that all he had done during the 50-minute long program was to criticize policies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Delivering their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor requested sentencing for Yanardağ on the charge of “terrorism propaganda.” The prosecutor demanded that Yanardağ be kept in pre-trial detention, given the quality and nature of the offense.
The court sentenced Yanardağ to 2 years and 6 months in prison for the impugned crime. The court also ruled to release Yanardağ, based on the duration spent in pre-trial detention.
Please click here for a detailed report.
Halk TV presenter Ayşenur Arslan detained, RTÜK fines the channel
Halk TV presenter Ayşenur Arslan was detained on 3 October 2023 on suspicion of “terrorism propaganda” and “praising an offense or an offende” as part of an investigation launched by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office over some comments she made on her TV program.
Arslan was released the same day, after giving a statement.
An investigation was launched against Arslan over comments she made on the 2 October edition of the TV program “Medya Mahallesi” regarding the PKK attack outside the Directorate-General of Security in Ankara on 1 October 2023.
Meanwhile, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued a 5 percent fine and five broadcast bans to Halk TV for “serving the purposes of terrorism” over Arslan’s comments.
Yeni Demokrasi employee Ertan Çıta arrested
Yeni Demokrasi newspaper employee Ertan Çıta, who was detained in Tunceli, was placed under arrest by the court on 5 October 2023.
Journalists Dilan Babat and Fırat Can Arslan acquitted at the second hearing
The second hearing in the trial of JinNews reporter Dilan Babat and Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan on the charge of “marking officials assigned in the fight against terrorism as targets” was held at the Konya 2nd High Criminal Court on 5 October 2023.
The court ruled to acquit journalists Babat and Arslan on the grounds that “it could not be identified” whether persons taking part in counter-terrorism had been marked as targets.
Journalists Babat and Arslan had been detained while reporting on the funeral of journalist and writer Nagihan Akarsel that took place in the village of Gölyazı in the Cihanbeyli district of Konya on 13 October 2022. Akarsel had been killed in an armed attack in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq on 4 October 2023.
Halk TV producer Serhan Asker detained
Halk TV producer Serhan Asker stated on his social media account that he had been detained at İzmir Airport on 6 October 2023.
Asker stated that there was an order for his detention.
MA reporter Ahmet Kanbal detained in house raid
Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Ahmet Kanbal was detained during a raid on his home in central Mardin. Kanbal’s computer was confiscated during the raid.
Kanbal was taken to the Counter Terrorism Department of the Provincial Directorate of Security, where he was questioned on allegations of “terrorism propaganda.” The basis of the allegation was Kanbal’s social media posts and his reporting.
Police raids on Önsöz magazine and Mücadele Birliği newspaper
Önsöz magazine Editor-in-Chief Songül Yücel and illustrator and member of the editorial board Sena Şat were detained on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” in house raids taking place early on 6 October 2023.
The same day, the office of the Mücadele Birliği newspaper was raided by the police, who broke the door to enter. Police officers also entered the premises of the newspaper’s publisher Yeni Dönem Yayıncılık's office after breaking the door and confiscated hard drives they dismantled from computers, cameras and a laptop computer.
Bodyguard who assaulted Sinan Aygül gets restraining order issued
In a statement on his social media account on 6 October 2023, journalist Sinan Aygül stated that one of Tatvan Mayor Emin Geylani’s bodyguards who had assaulted him had had a restraining order issued against himself.
Aygül wrote, “Attackers who attempted murder were tried on the charge of causing bodily harm and were released after the first hearing. Now a restraining order has been issued against me. Attacker Yücel Baysalı went to the police station and claimed I had threatened him, upon which the police station issued a ‘Protective Measure Decision’ with the approval of the District Governor of Tatvan Remzi Demir.”
Aygül further stated that he had not been provided with a copy of the decision despite requesting it and wrote the following: “For four days, I have been trying to establish according to which law this decision was taken. I was not provided with a copy of the decision, despite asking for it from the prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor that launched the investigation did not know about it because it is an administrative decision, not a judicial one.”
Court requests computer examination in documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin’s case despite experts’ reports
The third hearing in the trial of director Sibel Tekin on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” over claims she recorded images of “police and prison vehicles” for her documentary “Karanlıkta Başlayan Hayta” was held at the Ankara 26th High Criminal Court on 3 October 2023.
Tekin and her lawyers attended the hearing.
The court expert’s report requested by the court was read out during the hearing. In keeping with the findings of the first report, the second report also emphasized that there were no findings indicating that Tekin had recorded images of police and prison vehicles on purpose.
Tekin’s lawyer said that the file contained no evidence in support of the claim that Tekin had been “gathering intelligence” and that a digital examination would contribute nothing further to the file in this respect.
Despite the court experts’ reports and the request by Tekin’s lawyer, the court ruled to await the outcome of the computer examination to be provided by the Branch Directorate of Counter-Cyber Crimes and adjourned the trial until 5 December 2023.
Court sends file to the prosecutor’s office for final opinion to be drafted in YSP MP Ayşegül Doğan’s case
The fifth hearing in the trial of Green and Left Party (YSP) MP for Şırnak Ayşegül Doğan on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” based on alleged evidence from the time she practiced journalism was held at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court on 4 October 2023.
The court ruled to decline the request to suspend the trial of Doğan, who has been elected MP, and to keep the international travel ban in place.
The court conveyed the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion to be filed and adjourned the trial until 11 December 2023.
Journalist Ramazan Ölçen’s case adjourned until February
The 12th hearing in trial of Ramazan Ölçen, licensed publisher of the now-defunct Azadiya Welat newspaper, on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” over news items that appeared in the newspaper, was held at the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court on 2 October 2023.
The court ruled to await the execution of the order for the detention of Ölçen, who lives abroad, and adjourned the trial until 14 February 2024.
“KCK Academia Case” adjourned until December
The 20th hearing in the trial of 21 defendants, including Demokratik Modernite magazine editor Haydar Ergül, journalist Ahmet Birsin and Jineolojî Dergisi magazine employee Şeyma Kantarcı on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the İstanbul 22nd High Criminal Court on 4 October 2023.
Many defendants and their lawyers attended the hearing. Kantarcı, who is in pre-trial detention as part of another trial, presented an excuse not to attend.
The court ruled to receive Kantarcı’s defense statement from prison, due to her case being merged with another case. Ruling to keep judicial control measures in place for each defendant separately, the court adjourned the trial until 19 December 2023.
Journalist Metin Cihan’s TÜGVA case adjourned
The first hearing with a new case number in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan on the charge of “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data” over sharing Youth Foundation of Turkey (TÜGVA) documents, which allegedly show the improper distribution of positions within the state, was held at the İstanbul 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 6 October 2023.
Cihan’s lawyer Özgür Urfa attended the hearing, which P24 monitored. TÜGVA’s lawyer submitted an excuse not to attend.
The judge said that the order for the detention of Cihan had not been executed.
The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Cihan’s arrest and adjourned the trial until 16 February 2024.
At the 28 April 2023 hearing in which Cihan was tried along with Ramazan Aydoğdu, who is claimed to have leaked the TÜGVA documents, the court had sentenced Aydoğdu to imprisonment and had separated Cihan’s file for trial under a new case number.
Trial of journalists Eylem Sonbahar, Sema Karakurt and Metin Cihan adjourned until January
The 18th hearing in the trial of journalists Eylem Sonbahar, Sema Karakurt and Metin Cihan on the charge of “resisting to obstruct duty” was held at the Antalya 25th Criminal Court of First Instance on 4 October 2023.
Some defendants’ lawyers attended the hearing.
The court ruled to adjourn the trial until 9 January 2024.
The journalists had been detained on 15 November 2015 while covering the protests against the G20 Summit in Antalya and the indictment against them was filed on 30 June 2016.
Trial of journalist Yağmur Kaya adjourned
The fifth hearing in the trial of journalist Yağmur Kaya on the charge of “marking officials assigned in the fight against terrorism as targets” over the interview Kaya did with Human Rights Association Co-Chair Eren Keskin and upon the complaint filed by Musat Çitil was held at the Aydın 2nd High Criminal Court on 5 October 2023.
Lawyers for the parties submitted excuses not to attend.
The trial was adjourned.
At least 44 journalists and media workers in prison
Following the release of Tele 1 Editor-in-Cheif Merdan Yanardağ, as of 6 October 2023 there are at least 44 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.
Please click here to view a detailed list.