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 - 432

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 432

Two journalists sentenced in two separate cases; Altan Sancar threatened with bullet; Barış Pehlivan sued for damages over his “bribery” article; court decides to keep Dicle Müftüoğlu behind bars; investigation against five journalists results in decision not to prosecute

 

Journalist Furkan Karabay given jail term

The third hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay on charges of “insult” and “defamation” launched upon a complaint by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyers Ahmet Özel and Mustafa Doğan İnal was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 January 2024.

P24 monitored the hearing, where Karabay and lawyers for the parties were present.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case, first presented at the hearing on 19 September 2023, and requested Karabay to be acquitted of “defamation” but sentenced on the charge of “insult.”

The court ruled to acquit Karabay of “insult” but sentenced the journalist to 1 year and 15 days of imprisonment for "libel." The sentence was suspended.

For further information, please see this report.

Journalist Mansur Çelik handed jail term

The fifth hearing in the trial of ANKA News Agency Managing Editor Mansur Çelik on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” held at the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court on 18 January 2024. The accusation stemmed from a news report about Deputy Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek (who was the former presiding judge of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court) not implementing a Constitutional Court judgment regarding former Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Enis Berberoğlu.

Çelik and his lawyer Elçin Özge Şimşek Çağlayan were present at the hearing.

Çelik delivered his defense statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion. Stating that the prosecutor’s final opinion contained factual errors and inconsistencies, Çelik said that by refusing to implement a Constitutional Court judgment, Gürlek had "brought about a new era in Turkey." Çelik continued: “Today, various levels of the Turkish justice system have become disjointed, with everyone speaking their own mind, because the templates which proscribed the procedure and possible outcomes for each issue have collapsed.”

Rendering its judgment following a recess, the court sentenced Çelik to 1 year of imprisonment, which is the lower limit outlined in Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terrori Law (TMK). The court reduced the sentence to 6 months and decided to suspend it. The court also lifted the travel ban on Çelik, which had been enforced for 14 months.

Journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu not released at second hearing

The second hearing in the trial of journalist and Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-Chair Dicle Müftüoğlu on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “establishing and managing an illegal organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 18 January 2024. Müftüoğlu has been imprisoned pending trial since 3 May 2023.

P24 monitored the hearing. Müftüoğlu attended the hearing from the Sincan Women’s Closed Prison via the judicial videoconferencing network while her lawyers Resul Temur and Veysel Ok were present in the courtroom.

Asked for her statement, Müftüoğlu stated that she would repeat the defense statement she delivered at the previous hearing.

The court then heard the witness Kerem Gökalp, who testified against Müftüoğlu. Gökalp, who claimed he had seen Müftüoğlu in the “media field” at a training session of the KCK Press Committee, added that he was "there as a trainer" and that he "did not know what her duty was."

Speaking after witness Gökalp, lawyer Resul Temur said that the witness had been handed over as state’s evidence to Turkey by the KDP on 20 November 2019 and did not state anything about their client in identification reports filed during this process.

Speaking afterwards, lawyer Veysel Ok said that the witness statements contained many contradictions and said that the prosecutor had drafted an indictment without making the necessary effort. Ok said, “A prosecutor cannot impute intentions. They must base what they say on actions.”

The moment Ok’s defense statement was over, the presiding judge announced that they had decided to sustain Müftüoğlu’s imprisonment pending trial, without taking recess.

The trial was adjourned until 29 February 2024 for the secret witness to be heard.

For further information please see this report.

Journalist Altan Sancar threatened with "bullet" on social media

On 15 January 2024, journalist Altan Sancar announced that he had been threatened on social media. An Instagram user had sent Sancar a photo showing a bullet placed on a Turkish flag. Sancar shared an image of the threat message and pointed out previous threats he had received and how the criminal complaints he had filed against those threats had not yielded results.

Appellate court reverses journalist Ayşe Kara’s acquittal 

The 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice has reversed the acquittal judgment rendered for journalist Ayşe Kara in her trial on the charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “aiding a terrorist organization.”

The appellate court ruled that the acquittal judgment had been rendered on “inadequate inquiry” and “insufficient research,” and sent the file back to the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court for a retrial.

Kara’s membership in now-defunct Free Journalists Association and Kongreya Jinên Azad/Free Women’s Congress (KJA) as well as participating in a demonstration, which she was covering as a journalist, had been cited as evidence for the charges. At the final hearing of her trial held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 9 November 2021, Kara was acquitted. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had appealed against Kara's acquittal.

Appellate court reverses prison sentence handed to journalist Nurcan Yalçın

The Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice 2nd Penal Chamber, acting as appellate court, has reversed the prison sentence of 2 years and 1 month handed to journalist Nurcan Yalçın by the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court. 

The appellate court ruled that the decision had been rendered on “inadequate inquiry” and “insufficient justification,” and sent the file to the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court for a retrial. The court also rejected the request for the judicial control measures imposed on Yalçın to be lifted. 

The case had been launched in 2020 against Yalçın on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” over her membership in the Rosa Women’s Association, her social media posts and a secret witness’ testimonies. Concluding the case on 22 November 2021, the court had sentenced Yalçın to 2 years and 1 month in prison for “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member,” and 1 year 6 months and 22 days in prison for “terrorism propaganda.” The court had suspended the latter. 

Investigation against five journalists results in decision not to prosecute

The Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office has dropped the charges against Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reporter Delal Akyüz, T24 editor Sibel Yükler, bianet editor Evrim Kepenek and journalist Evrim Deniz in an investigation on the allegation of “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets.”

All four journalists were under investigation for reposting MA reporter Fırat Can Arslan's social meida post regarding the relocations of a public prosecutor, who filed the indictment against 18 journalists in Diyarbakır, and the prosecutor’s spouse, who was a judge on the panel of the court overseeing the trial agianst the 18 journalists.

The public prosecutor's decision not to prosecute Akyüz, Yükler, Kepenek and Deniz also showed that an investigation had been launched against MA Publisher Ferhat Çelik on the same allegation and that that charge has also been dropped.

Arslan, Yükler, Akyüz and Kepenek were detained in police raids on their homes on 25 July 2023 as part of the investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, while Deniz was called in to the police station to give a statement as part of the same investigation. While Yükler, Akyüz, Kepenek and Deniz were released, Arslan was jailed pending trial on the charge of “marking persons assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets.” Arslan was acquitted and released after 100 days in remand at his first hearing held on 31 October 2023.

Journalist Barış Pehlivan sued for damages for his article on “bribery”

Journalist Barış Pehlivan announced that a lawsuit had been filed against him over an article he wrote on the investigation against Mayor Ali Kılıç of Maltepe district, İstanbul, following allegations of bribery at the municipality.

Pehlivan said that Kılıç was seeking TL 1 million in damages over his article “CHP’li belediyede neler oluyor?” (What is going on at CHP-held municipality?), published in Cumhuriyet newspaper on 8 December 2023, in which he quoted an expert’s report regarding the investigation against the mayor.

New indictment filed against Furkan Karabay

The indictment for the case under which Gerçek Gündem news website editor Furkan Karabay was imprisoned pending trial on 29 December 2023 has been filed.

The indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office on 18 January 2024 charges journalist Karabay with “insulting a public official” and “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” over the news item titled “Mafya davasında rüşvet tutanakları kayıtlarda” (“Bribery records enter minutes in mafia case”), which appeared on the Gerçek Gündem website on 27 December 2023 and Karabay’s social media post on the same day.

Karabay was detained on 28 December 2023 over the said news item and was questioned by the prosecutor at İstanbul Courthouse and sent to the İstanbul 7th Criminal Court of Peace, which put Karabay in pre-trial detention on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” the next day. Karabay was placed in Marmara Prison (formerly known as Silivri Prison). Journalist Karabay was released on 8 January 2024, following an objection filed against his arrest.

Prosecutor requests sentencing for Kürşat Yılmaz and Görkem Kınacı for “defamation”

The third hearing in the trial of Evrensel newspaper Licensed Publisher Kürşat Yılmaz and Managing Editor Görkem Kınacı on the charge of “defamation” and “insult” over the complaint filed by Turkuvaz Media Group Vice President of the Board of Directors Serhat Albayrak was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 January 2024.

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Yılmaz, Kınacı and lawyers for the parties.

Yılmaz and Kınacı requested that the announcment of the verdict be deferred. Lawyer Devrim Avcı, representing the journalists, requested the court to grant them time, as they had not been able to obtain a copy of the criminal complaint.

Co-plaintiff Albayrak’s lawyer said that there was no report or an ongoing investigation at judicial authorities concerning his client, that the defense lawyer’s request for time was intended to draw out the trial and demanded that the request for time be denied.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor said that while the legal elements of the crime of “insult” had formed in action, defendants “who caused more than one crime to occur through their actions” should be sentenced for that which carries the gravest punishment and requested sentencing for “defamation.”

Journalists and their lawyer Avcı requested time to set up a counter-statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion. The court accepted their request and adjourned the trial until 19 March 2024.

Yılmaz and Kınacı are on trial for news stories titled “Borsadaki rüşvet ağı Saray’a kadar uzandı” (Web of bribery in stock exchange extends to the Palace), published on 29 August 2022, and “Saray’a dayanan Peker ifşaları ‘cesur savcı’ ile temizlenemez” (More than a ‘brave prosecutor’ necessary to clean up Peker disclosures reaching the Palace), published  on 31 August 2022.

Witness requests to leave the hearing in the trial of 11 journalists

The fourth hearing in the trial of 11 journalists on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on 18 January 2024. The 11 journalists on trial are Mezopotamya Agency (MA) Managing Editor Diren Yurtsever, MA reporters Deniz Nazlım, Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Ceylan Şahinli and Zemo Ağgöz, JinNews reporters Habibe Eren and Öznur Değer and former MA intern Mehmet Günhan. Nine of the journalists on trial, except Ağgöz and Günhan, were imprisoned pending trial on 29 October 2022 as part of an Ankara-based investigation and released on 16 May 2023.

Of the defendant journalists, Selman Güzelyüz was present at the hearing.

The hearing began with the court hearing witness Özgür Baran, son of Sami Baran, who was a witness in the Kobanê Trial. Witness Özgür Baran attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system. Baran said he wanted to leave the hearing but did not present any grounds. The panel of judges said Baran had previously made statements and asked him whether he knew the journalists.

Baran said he did not know the journalists and added, “I do not know whether the MA has connections with the organization. I do not recognize the names you have listed and I do not know whether they are connected to the organization.” The panel of judges asked the witness, “Do you know whether these news agencies report in connection with the organization?” Witness Baran said that the agency had previously reported about his family and he had threatened the agency on the phone.

Lawyers for the defense said they would deliver their statements after all the witnesses were heard.

The prosecutor requested the court to deny the request for the return of confiscated materials belonging to JinNews reporter Melek Avcı, who is not defendant in the case, as the trial was still underway.

Lawyer Mustafa Vefa said that his clients were journalists and the confiscation of materials meant they could not practice their profession. Vefa pointed out the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision on confiscated materials and requested the lifting of judicial control measures.

The panel of judges ruled to keep the judicial control measures in place, to reduce the requirement for the journalists to check in a police station once a month and adjourned the trial until 25 April 2024.

Journalist Furkan Karabay appears before court for “insulting a public official”

The first hearing in the trial of Gerçek Gündem news website editor Furkan Karabay on the charge of “insulting a public official” over his social media posts concerning deputy minister appointments held at the Ankara 16th Criminal Court of First Instance on 17 January 2024. The case against Karabay was filed upon a complaint by deputy justice ministers Akın Gürlek and Hasan Yılmaz, and Constitutional Court member İrfan Fidan.

Journalist Karabay did not attend the hearing, while his lawyer Onat Doğu Akoluk was present.

Delivering a statement at the hearing, lawyer Akoluk said that the social media posts by his client Karabay were a news item from the Gerçek Gündem website and that the contents of the news item was a petition to the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) and investigations being run by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Lawyer Akoluk requested the court to inquire into the outcome of these investigations and the petition to the HSK.

The presiding judge accepted the request of complainant parties to join the case as co-plaintiffs.

Partially accepting the request by Karabay’s lawyer, the judge ruled for a writ to be issued to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to request investigation files on Sezgin Baran Korkmaz and Mansimov Gurbanoğlu.

The trial was adjourned until 3 April 2024.

Journalist Ercan Aktaş’s trial adjourned until April

The 18th hearing in the trial of journalist and writer Ercan Aktaş on the charge of “publicly denigrating the Turkish nation and the state” was held at Istanbul's Küçükçekmece 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 January 2024.

Aktaş, who resides in France, did not attend the hearing, while his lawyer Emine Özhasar was present.

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Aktaş’s arrest and adjourned the trial until 25 April 2024.

Documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin’s trial adjourned until March 2024

The fifth hearing in the trial of documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” over the claim she had taken images of “police and prison vehicles” for her documentary “Karanlıkta Başlayan Hayat” (The life that begins in darkness) was held at the Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court on 16 January 2024.

Tekin and her lawyers Mehtap Sakinci, Hümeyra Taşkıran, Ceren Yılmaz and co-plaintiff lawyer Murat Yılmaz were present at the hearing.

The prosecutor requested the court to inquire into whether the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) had prepared a report on Tekin.

The court accepted the request and adjourned the trial until 5 March 2024.

Journalist Rozerin Gültekin’s trial adjourned until March

The third hearing in the trial of JinNews reporter Rozerin Gültekin, who reported on the demonstration named “Tecrit Siyasetine Karşı Özgürlüğü Savunmak İçin Gemlik’e Yürüyoruz” (We March on Gemlik to Defend Freedom against the Policy of Isolation) held in Bursa on 12 June 2022, on the charge of “violating the Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the Bursa 18th Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 January 2024.

Neither Gültekin nor her lawyer attended the hearing.

Lawyer Özcan Kılıç had presented a written defense statement before the hearing, which began with identification.

The court then heard witness Sadık Demir, who said that they had detained many people at the time and Rozerin had not identified herself as a journalist. Sadık Demir said that a crowd had gathered to protest the prison isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and claimed they had not dispersed despite warnings.

Following the witness’ statement, the prosecutor requested the court to inquire into the outcome of the writ issued to JinNews and the completion of the missing elements in the file.

The court ruled to convey another writ to JinNews to ascertain whether they had any reporters working for the agency in Bursa at the time of the incident and adjourned the trial until 21 March 2024.

At least 36 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 19 January 2024, there are at least 36 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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