Former Zaman newspaper manager Mehmet Kamış imprisoned pending trial; Hacı Boğatekin handed jail term; sentencing requested for Ayça Söylemez at the first hearing; Furkan Karabay sued twice for damages

 

Former Zaman newspaper deputy editor-in-chief Mehmet Kamış put in pre-trial detention

 

Former deputy editor-in-chief of the shut-down Zaman newspaper Mehmet Kamış, who was detained in İzmir in 22 November 2023 as part of a FETÖ investigation and was later brought to İstanbul was imprisoned pending trial by the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 23 November 2023.

 

An arrest warrant was issued for Kamış on suspicion of “attempting to destroy the Constitutional order” and Kamış was apprehended in Çeşme in an operation carried out by the Presidency of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) and the İzmir Directorate of Security Counter Organized Crime department under the coordination of the İzmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Kamış was later turned over to the İstanbul Directorate of Security.

 

Kamış was brought to the İstanbul Directorate of Security on Vatan Avenue and transferred to the İstanbul Courthouse following processing at the Counter-Terrorism Department and a health check.

 

Kamış was transferred to the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court after his interrogation at the prosecutor’s office and was placed in pre-trial detention due to posing “a risk of flight.”

 

In the lawsuit brought as per the indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Kamış was listed among the 17 defendants, including journalists Mehmet Altan, Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak, who stood trial for allegedly having prior knowledge of the coup attempt on 15 July 2016.

 

At the hearing on 19 September 2017, the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court decided to separate the case files for fugitive defendants Mehmet Kamış, Ekrem Dumanlı, Osman Özsoy, Emre Uslu, Tuncay Opçin, Abdulkerim Balcı, Bülent Keneş, Faruk Kardıç, Şemsettin Efe and Ali Çolak, after issuing arrest warrants for their detention.

The Terrorism and Organized Crime Office of the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office had requested the confiscation of the assets of 54 suspects processed on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” as part of the investigation launched against the former employees and managers of the shut-down Zaman newspaper.

The İstanbul 11th Criminal Court of Peace, which accepted the request had ruled to confiscate all assets and all bank accounts of these people, including Mehmet Kamış's, on the grounds of “strong suspicion” that they had committed the impugned crime, provided financing to the terrorist organization and had placed their assets at the service of the terrorist organization as per statutory decree 688.

 

Journalist Hacı Boğatekin given jail term for “defamation”

 

The eighth hearing in the trial of Gerger Fırat newspaper news and intelligence director Özgür Boğatekin and contributor Hacı Boğatekin on the charge of “defamation” was held at the Gerger Criminal Court of First Instance on 23 November 2023.

 

Özgür Boğatekin, Hacı Boğatekin and their lawyers were present at the hearing.

 

After identification, the prosecutor announced their final opinion on the case and requested the acquittal of the journalists.

 

The journalists repeated their former defense statements and requested their acquittal.

 

Announcing its verdict following a recess, the court sentenced Hacı Boğatekin to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment for the crime of “defamation.” The court did not defer the sentencing, while acquitting Özgür Boğatekin.

 

An indictment against the journalists with the request for “deprivation of certain rights” had been filed by the Gerger Chief Prosecutor’s Office on the charge of “defamation” after their 18 October 2018 reporting on allegations of bribery concerning a judge appointed to Gerger, Adıyaman.

 

Journalist Furkan Karabay sued twice for damages

 

Gerçek Gündem editor Furkan Karabay has been sued twice for a total of TL 500,000 damages by Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Erdoğan’s former lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal for “harming their personality rights” following a post by Karabay on his social media account on 2 November 2023.

 

The petitions, which were handed in on 3 November 2023 were examined by the court the same day and the trial has commenced. Of the damages cases against journalist Karabay, that of plaintiff Bilal Erdoğan will be heard at the İstanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance, while that of plaintiff Mustafa Doğan İnal will be heard at the İstanbul 32nd Civil Court of First Instance.

 

İstanbul Anadolu Chief Prosecutor İsmail Uçar had written a petition to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors and claimed that there were people in the Anadolu courthouse issuing denial of access and release decisions in exchange for money. In his social media post, journalist Karabay had said, “Regulars at the courthouse were lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal, who was once representing President Erdoğan, Bilal Erdoğan and Metin Güneş. Judge Sidar Demiroğlu, who is accused of ‘selling justice’ for money had covered up the bloody incident involving İnal and Güneş.”

 

In the rest of his post, Karabay said “Will those who have acted against journalists Tolga Şardan and Dinçer Gökçe who spoke of the corruption in the judiciary, those who make the FETÖ judges and prosecutors of old look good take action over these people?”

 

Journalist Yıldız Tar called in to give a statement over her article

 

In a social media post, Kaos GL contributor Yıldız Tar said that she had been called in to give a statement to the Ankara Counter-Terrorism Department on 21 November 2023 due to her article titled “Şöhret olmak isteyen hakim ve savcılar memleketi” (“The country of judges and prosecutors who desire fame”) that was published in Artı Gerçek.

 

Tar made an announcement on social media following her statement and said, “I have been called in to give a statement about my article concerning Fırat Can Arslan, who was placed in pre-trial detention for sharing the assignment of a judge published in the Official Gazette on social media and Sibel Yükler, Delal Akyüz, Evrim Deniz and Evrim Kepenek, who were taken into custody.

 

Tar said, “Informing the public is the basic duty of journalists. The arrests, detentions, statements and trial over “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” has become a regular chain of events for journalists. All the questions I asked in my article to assuage the public conscience still await answers.”

 

Süleyman Soylu targets 4 journalists

 

Former Minister of the Interior and AKP MP Süleyman Soylu has shared a social media post with the screenshots of four news items concerning him.

 

Sharing the screenshots of articles by Tolga Şardan, Saygı Öztürk, Orhan Uğuroğlu and Cengiz Demirel, Soylu wrote: “It has been 5 and a half months since I left office. Their ambition, hatred, slander and passion for revenge has not passed. They act in an organized manner to put forward new slanders, new lies, new accusations every day… They are so used to me! They shoot at my shadow to do their jobs! Four new examples today, as always…”

 

Prosecutor requests sentencing for Ayça Söylemez

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Ayça Söylemez on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” over her article “Yetenekli Hakim Bey” (“The Talented His Honor the Judge”) which was published in the 18 February 2020 edition of the BirGün newspaper has been held at the İstanbul 29th High Criminal Court on 22 November 2023.

Söylemez and her lawyer Güçlü Sevimli were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

The prosecutor submitted their final opinion the case and requested sentencing for Söylemez for the impugned crime.

Söylemez and her lawyer requested additional time to set up a counter-statement against the opinion. The court accepted the request and adjourned the trial until 19 March 2024.

Please click here for a detailed report.

 

 

Canan Coşkun’s retrial begins

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Canan Coşkun on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” was held at the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on 23 November 2023.

 

Coşkun and her lawyer attended the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The prosecutor for the hearing requested the case file to be sent to the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion on the case to be drafted.

 

The court accepted the request and adjourned the trial until 22 February 2024.

 

Please click here for a detailed report.

 

Writer Gökhan Yavuzel’s trial for “inciting the people to hatred and enmity” begins

 

The trial of writer Gökhan Yavuzel on the charge of “inciting the people to hatred and enmity” over an article he wrote began at the Şanlıurfa 4th Criminal Court of First Instance on 24 November 2023.

Yavuzel and his lawyer attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from the courtroom of the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

The court ruled to send the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion on the case to be filed and adjourned the trial until 23 February 2024.

Yavuzel’s article titled “Sanat ve iktidar ilişkisi” (“Relationship between art and the government”) that appeared on the Gazete Davul website on 31 January 2021 is given as evidence of the charge.

 

Journalists Barış Pehlivan and Mustafa Büyüksipahi’s trial adjourned until December

 

The fifth hearing in the trial of journalist Barış Pehlivan and former publication coordinator Mustafa Büyüksipahi of the Cumhuriyet newspaper on the charge of “insulting a public official” over their reporting on the former member of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors Hamit Kocabey was held at the Ankara 19th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 November 2023.

 

Kocabey and Pehlivan’s lawyers were present at the hearing.

 

Kocabey’s lawyer stated that Barış Pehlivan was also on trial along with former Halk TV editor in chief Suat Toktaş at the 39th Criminal Court of First Instance for a statement he gave on Halk TV concerning the same issue and that decision to merge the two cases had been taken in that trial.

 

The court ruled to obtain information on the decision for the merger of the cases seen by the Ankara 39th Criminal Court of First Instance and adjourned the trial until 7 December 2023.

 

Journalists Ramazan Yurttapan and Haydar Ergül’s trial for “insulting the president” adjourned until April

 

The fourth hearing in the trial of Ramazan Yurttapan, Demokratik Modernite magazine managing editor and magazine editor Haydar Ergül on the charge “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 November 2023.

 

 

While Ergül and Yurttapan did not attend the hearing, their lawyer Özcan Kılıç was present.

 

While President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's lawyer submitted an “excuse petition with a request to pause proceedings,” lawyer Özcan Kılıç requested missing elements in the file to be completed.

 

The court accepted the petition by Erdoğan’s lawyer and adjourned the trial until 18 April 2024.

 

Journalist Rüstem Batum’s trial adjourned until March

 

The 12th hearing in the trial of journalist Rüstem Batum on the charges of “insulting the president” and “inciting the people to hatred and enmity” was held at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 23 November 2023.

 

None of the parties attended the hearing.

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Batum’s detention and adjourned the trial until 21 March 2024.

 

Journalist Baransel Ağca’s “insulting the president” trail adjourned

 

The sixth hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 23 November 2023.

 

The trial was adjourned to a later date.

 

The indictment lists two social media posts by Ağca sated 2016 and 2021 as evidence.

 

Request for “red notice” for the detention of singer Ferhat Tunç denied

 

The 11th hearing in the trial of singer Ferhat Tunç for “insulting” then Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was held at the Büyükçekmece 16th Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 November 2023.

 

Tunç did not attend the hearing, but his lawyer was present.

 

The panel of judges stated that the Ministry of Justice had requested issuing a “red notice” for the detention of Tunç.

 

The court stated that it would not accept this request and would not make any changes to the current order for detention.

 

The trial was adjourned until 20 December 2023.

 

 

At least 42 journalists and media workers in prison

Following the arrest of Mehmet Kamış on 23 November, there are now at least 42 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence as of 25 November 2023.

 

The full list can be viewed here.