ECtHR rules for rights violations in Ayşenur Parıldak case; police violence against journalists during Newroz celebrations; BTK loses the “freedom of information application” case brought by Yaman Akdeniz; Ayça Söylemez acquitted; Levent Gültekin given jail term

ECtHR rules for rights violations in the case of Ayşenur Parıldak

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced its judgment on the application of former judicial reporter of the now-shut down Zaman newspaper Ayşenur Parıldak on 19 March 2024. The court ruled that the right to liberty and security and the freedom of expression of Parıldak had been violated and sentenced Turkey to pay a total of 22,000 euros, 16,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages and 6,000 euros in costs and expenses.

At the final hearing in the trial held at the Ankara 14th High Criminal Court on 21 November 2017, Parlak was sentenced to seven years and six months of imprisonment for the crime of “membership of an armed terrorist organization.” The court of appeals and the Court of Cassation approved the verdict for Parıldak in 2018.

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Click here to access detailed information about the Ayşenur Parıldak case.

Police violence against journalists reporting during Newroz celebrations

Journalists covering the Newroz event at Yenikapı Square in İstanbul on 17 March 2024 were battered by the police.

Among the journalists following the gathering held upon a call by DEM Party, AFP reporter Eylül Deniz Yaşar was violently detained. Journalist Yaşar, who was detained at the police checkpoint, was subjected to severe verbal and physical violence by the police both during her detention and the six hours she spent in custody. Bianet reporters Tuğçe Yılmaz and Ali Dinç and Kurdish news editor Aren Yıldırım were subjected to violence by the police, who tried to detain them.

Bianet reporter Yılmaz was prevented by the police from obtaining images of people being detained. Yılmaz was pressed on the ground, with the police stepping on her neck and her hands handcuffed behind her back, despite stating that she was a journalist several times.

Police officers also attacked bianet reporter Ali Dinç and tried to detain news in Kurdish editor Aren Yıldırım.

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Court of Cassation overturns imprisonment sentence for journalist İsmail Eskin

The sentence of 3 years and 15 days of imprisonment issued to journalist İsmail Eskin, who criticized the attacks during curfews, for the crime of “terrorism propaganda” was overturned.

The imprisonment sentence issued to journalist İsmail Eskin, who criticized the military operations that began with the curfews declared in 2015, for the crime of “terrorism propaganda” by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court has been overturned by the Court of Cassation.

The imprisonment sentence, which was issued over social media posts was approved by the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice the same year. Eskin’s lawyer Resul Temur filed an appeal with the Court of Cassation against the verdict.

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled that the imprisonment sentence for Eskin was unlawful. In its judgment, the Court of Cassation said that the court had not openly stated which posts constituted a crime. The Court of Cassation unanimously voted to overturn the verdict on the grounds that an unjustified verdict in violation of article 6 of the ECHR, article 141 of the constitution and articles 34 and 230 of the Law 5271 was unlawful and requested that the court re-evaluate the imprisonment sentence with consideration of the freedom of the press and expression.

Court of Cassation overturns damages journalist İdris Yılmaz ordered to pay

The verdict against journalist İdris Yılmaz in the case for “insult” filed against him by AKP member and Erciş mayoral candidate Fatih Çiftçi for the crime of “insult” was overturned by the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.

In 2014, Çiftçi sued Yılmaz, who had reported on allegations of corruption concerning him, for the expression “thief” that appeared in the news item. At the conclusion of the case, Yılmaz was ordered to pay “TL 6,000 in damages for the crime of insult.”

In 2020, Yılmaz appealed the case through his lawyer Savaş Avcı and after evaluating the case, the Court of Cassation decided that the appeal for the overturning of the ruling was appropriate and ruled for a retrial.

In its decision dated 25 December 2023, the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation stated that “ECtHR jurisprudence requires that officials entrusted with various administrative duties should be more tolerant of criticism of their words and actions” and that the local court had arrived at judgment without judging whether the elements of the crime of “insult” had formed.

Information and Communication Technologies Authority loses “freedom of information” case filed by Yaman Akdeniz over bandwidth throttling during earthquake

The verdict has been issued in the “freedom of information” case filed by Yaman Akdeniz against the Information and Communications Technologies Authority (BTK) over the bandwidth throttling on social media platforms following the Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş centered twin earthquakes on 6 February 2023. The court ruled that the responses given by the BTK to Akdeniz concerning the practice of bandwidth throttling were not lawful and to cancel the administrative undertaking.

The BTK had imposed bandwidth throttling, which lasted for approximately 10 hours, on 8 February 2023. Right after the incident, Akdeniz filed a freedom of information application with the BTK over the bandwidth throttling practice. Upon the BTK not responding to his request, Akdeniz filed a case for the cancellation of the decision of the BTK to not respond to his request. In its defense statement, the BTK argued that the decision not to respond to Akdeniz’s inquiry was lawful, as the information he requested was classified as “restricted.”

The court stated that the BTK was not able to show why the documents requested were “classified,” accepted the case unanimously and ruled to cancel the undertaking by the defendant administration.

BirGün contributor Atilla Aşut detained on suspicion of “financing a terrorist organization”

BirGün newspaper contributor Attila Aşut was detained at his home in Ankara on 20 March 2024. Aşut was detained on suspicion of “financing a terrorist organization” for sending TL 600 in aid to a prison inmate.

Aşut was taken to the Counter-Terrorism Branch Directorate and released on the evening of the same day after providing a statement.

AKP Youth Branch members attack journalist Bilal Güldem

Members of the AKP Youth Branch attempted to attack journalist Bilal Güldem in Batman State Hospital, where he was accompanying his father as he was receiving treatment.

Güldem shared some posts on social media concerning the situation and said: “AKP members have tried to attack me while I accompanied a patient! AKP Youth Branch members tried to attack me at the Batman Regional State Hospital because I would not take their end of the fast meal. Hospital personnel intervened to calm the situation. Young AKP supporters, who abide by no rules, entered the hospital despite it being forbidden and tried to distribute food in the tomography department. My father was in tomography at the time. After the first incident was dealt with, they tried to attack me again. The personnel would not allow them. Later, AKP supporters were removed from the hospital with the intervention of hospital security.”

Tolga Şardan to appear before court due to his reporting on “corruption in the judiciary”

The trial of T24 contributor Tolga Şardan on charges of “spreading false information” and “denigrating the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state” over his reporting on “corruption in the judiciary” is to beginat the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 8 July 2024.

Şardan was detained and arrested on 1 November 2023 on the charge of “spreading false information” as part of an ex officio investigation carried out by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office into his article "MİT'in Cumhurbaşkanlığı'na sunduğu 'yargı raporu'nda neler var?" (“What is in the judiciary report the National Intelligence Organization has presented to the Presidency?”) Şardan was released by the İstanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace on 6 November 2023 with a ban on travelling abroad.

Investigations against BirGün editor and reporter

An investigation has been filed against BirGün editor Kayhan Ayhan for reporting on the maltreatment of villagers by the gendarmerie in the news item titled "Köylülere 2,5 saat şiddet (“Villagers subjected to violence for 2.5 hours”). Five investigations have been filed against BirGün reporter İsmail Arı upon the complaint of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) MP for Mersin Levent Uysal and former Minister of Justice and AKP member Abdulhamit Gül.

Ayhan was called in to give a statement concerning the news item which Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP for Bursa Orhan Sarıbal brought up in parliament, and which contains quotes attributed to Sarıbal.

Investigations have been filed against reporter İsmail Arı upon the complaint by MHP MP Levent Uysal over the news items titled “MHP’li vekil Sırbistan Vatandaşıymış,” (“MHP MP is a Serbian Citizen” - 11 March) “Dolandırıcılığı ödüllendirdiler” (Reward for Embezzlement - 15 February) and “Servet değerindeki araziyi MHP’li kaptı” (MHP Member Gets Land Worth a Fortune - 19 January), which appeared in BirGün.

A fourth investigation filed against reporter Arı on Uysal’s complaint concerns the TV program titled “Yakın Takip” on Artı TV on which Arı appeared as a guest. Access to the news items in question had been denied upon the complaint of MHP MP Uysal.

In addition to the four investigations due to complaints by Uysal, reporter Arı is also facing an investigation concerning his news item titled “Gül gibi vurgun,” which was published on 16 February 2024, upon the complaint of former Minister of Justice and AKP member Abdulhamit Gül.

Confiscation of the digital materials of journalist Delal Akyüz brought before the Constitutional Court

Lawyers representing Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Delal Akyüz, who was one of the six journalists arrested in İzmir on 13 February 2024 in home raids have applied to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the detention of the journalist and the confiscation of his news materials constitutes a disproportionate intervention against the freedom of the press.

The application to the Constitutional Court stated that due to the secrecy order imposed on the investigation under which the journalist was detained, the suspicion Akyüz was under was only disclosed during interrogation at the police station and that the questions Akyüz was asked and the impugned crimes shows that his journalistic activities, 32 news items he had prepared, meetings and demonstrations he had followed for reporting and the agency he worked for were considered evidence of crime.

The journalists were held in custody for three days, after which they were transferred to the İzmir Criminal Court of Peace on 16 February with a request for their arrest on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.” The court placed Akyüz and three other journalists under house arrest.

Investigation against journalist who has been missing for 30 years

It has been revealed that an investigation on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” was filed against former Özgür Gündem newspaper reporter Nazım Babaoğlu, who has been missing for 30 years and listed as the “deceased” in the investigation file which was amended with a new case basis number in 2015.

Former Özgür Gündem reporter Nazım Babaoğlu disappeared on 12 March 1994, after he went to the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa upon receiving a call concerning “urgent news.” Following the forced disappearance of journalist Babaoğlu, his family and his colleagues at Özgür Gündem waged a legal battle for many years. Babaoğlu’s family and colleagues had to reach witnesses themselves due to the case not being investigated. The family held meetings with prosecutors and law enforcement officials at the time and petitioned prosecutor’s offices for the hearing in witnesses they had located through their own means.

Most recently, in a National Judicial Network Informatics System (UYAP) inquiry by the lawyers of the family, it was found that the basis number of the case concerning the investigation into Nazım Babaoğlu’s disappearance was changed in 2015, that a fugitive suspect was added to the file which now listed Babaoğlu as the “deceased” and that an investigation against journalist Babaoğlu on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” was filed in 2021. Due to the restrictions placed on both investigations, neither the family nor their lawyers can obtain information about the details.

Journalist Zeynep Durgut and 17 other women appear before court on charge of “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations”

The first hearing in the trial of Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Zeynep Durgut, who was assaulted and detained while covering a press statement on 25 November 2023, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and 17 other women on the charge of “violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations was held at the Şırnak Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 March 2024.

The hearing, at which Durgut and her lawyer were present, began with identification.

Following statements by lawyers and defendants, the prosecutor requested the missing elements in the file to be completed.

The judge ruled for those defendants who had not provided a statement to be ordered to provide a statement and adjourned the trial until 27 June 2024.

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Court requests new expert’s report in the trial of journalist Yağmur Kaya and others

The eighth hearing in the trial of journalist Yağmur Kaya and 51 Boğaziçi University students on the charge of “violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the İstanbul 17th Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 March 2024.

Defendants’ lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Kaya and the other 51 defendants did not attend the hearing.

Lawyer Şuayip Bolat, who represents some of the defendants said that expert’s report added to the case file between hearings had not been prepared according to scientific grounds and its legal and technological validity could not be established, and requested a new expert’s report to be prepared by the Cerrahpaşa Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine of İstanbul University.

The court ruled to issue a writ to the Cerrahpaşa Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine of İstanbul University for a comparison of the CD and images presented by Yağmur Kaya to the court with those submitted by the directorate of security to prepare a report on whether there is any fake footage.

The trial was adjourned until 5 July 2024.

DİHA reporter Şerife Oruç’s trial adjourned until June

The 27th hearing in the trial of the now-defunct Dicle News Agency’s (DİHA) former reporter Şerife Oruç on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court on 21 March 2024.

The court ruled to inquire into the outcome of the investigation against Oruç launched in Diyarbakır and await the execution of the order for Oruç’s detention.

The trial was adjourned until 26 June 2024.

Case file conveyed to the prosecutor’s office in trial of journalist Ali Duran Topuz

The 21 March 2024 hearing in the trial of Artı Gerçek news site Editor-in-Chief Ali Duran Topuz on the charge of “marking those involved in the fight against terrorism as targets” over the news item titled "Gazetecileri soruşturan savcı ve tutuklayan hâkim tayin edildi" (“Prosecutor who investigated journalists, and judge who arrested them placed”) was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.

Topuz was present at the hearing.

The trial was adjourned until 27 June 2024 for the prosecutor to prepare their final on the case.

Journalist Rüstem Batum’s trial adjourned

The 13th hearing in the trial of journalist Rüstem Batum on 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 21 March 2024.

No parties attended the hearing, which P24 monitored.

At the hearing, which was held summarily, the court ruled to await the execution of the order for Batum’s detention and adjourned the trial until 10 October 2024.

Journalist Zilan Azad acquitted

The fourth hearing in the trial of journalist Zilan Azad and 99 others on the charge of “violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the Anadolu 17th Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 March 2024.

Defendants’ lawyers Nurettin Kuzu and Ömer Taş attended the hearing.

The prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case and requested the acquittal of all defendants.

The panel of judges ruled to separate the case file of five defendants and acquitted the remaining 95 defendants, including Zilan Azad.

Court requests examination of association’s publications in GÖÇİZDER closure case

The fourth hearing in the case for the closure of the Migration and Monitoring Association (GÖÇİZDER) was held at the Bakırköy 15th Civil Court of First Instance on 20 March 2024.

Lawyer Ahmet Baran Çelik attended the hearing.

A copy of the decision of the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court dated 9 February 2024, in which members and administrators of the association were tried on and acquitted from the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was added to the case file.

The court ruled to request copies of the association’s publications from the Bakırköy Chief Prosecutor’s Office for examination and adjourned the trial until 26 June 2024.

Journalist Levent Gültekin given jail term

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Levent Gültekin on the charge of “insulting the president” over his statements on the TV program "Levent Gültekin ve Murat Sabuncu ile İki Yorum,” which was broadcast on Halk TV on 27 September 2022, was held at the Bakırköy 44th Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 March 2024.

Journalist Gültekin and his lawyer Gamzenur Sancılı were present at the hearing.

Gültekin said, “Just as your duty is to dispense justice, we have the duty to criticize. I strongly criticized a speech delivered by the President after a terrorist attack in Mersin. I did not insult him and I do not think I committed a crime. I request my acquittal.”

Gültekin's lawyer Sancılı said that her client was a journalist and spoke about current events on TV programs. Lawyer Sancılı added that Gültekin's statement constituted strong criticism and requested the court to acquit her client.

The prosecutor in their final opinion requested sentencing for Gültekin.

The court ruled to sentence Gültekin to 11 months and 20 days of imprisonment. The sentence was deferred.

Journalist Ayça Söylemez acquitted

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Ayça Söylemez on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” her article “Yetenekli Hakim Bey” (“The Talented His Honor the Judge”) which was published in the 18 February 2020 edition of the BirGün newspaper was held at the İstanbul 29th High Criminal Court on 19 March 2023.

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

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case at the previous hearing and requested sentencing for Söylemez for the impugned crime of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets.”

The court ruled to acquit Söylemez on the grounds that elements of the impugned crime had not formed.

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Journalist Can Ataklı appears before court

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Can Ataklı on the charge of “inciting the people to hatred and enmity” was held at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 March 2024.

Can Ataklı and lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

Delivering his defense statement following identification, Ataklı said, “I have been a journalist for 47 years. I have practiced this profession since the day PKK terrorism began. I have written nearly 45,000 articles and news items in my career. I have not written a single piece that praises terrorism.” Ataklı rejected the charge and requested his acquittal.

Lawyers for the plaintiff parties Ministry of Family and Social Services and Turkish States Relatives of Martyrs and Veterans Foundation said they upheld their complaint and requested sentencing for Ataklı.

Ataklı’s lawyer said that the organizations appearing as plaintiff parties in the case had no legal interest in the case and requested the court to refuse their request to join the case. Ataklı’s lawyer further requested the lifting of the ban on Ataklı travelling abroad and his acquittal.

The court ruled to accept the request of plaintiff parties to join the case as co-plaintiff, and to lift the ban on Ataklı travelling abroad.

The trial was adjourned until 10 September 2024.

Ataklı had criticized the father of martyred infantryman Kemal Aslan's father Mehmet Aslan saying, “I do not give my blessing to Selahattin Demirtaş, Osman Kavala and those who want freedom” in November 2023 on the program titled Gündem Analiz, which was broadcast on his YouTube account on 25 December 2023. The İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an ex officio investigation against Ataklı over the 22-minute long video.

The indictment filed against Ataklı listed the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Confederation of Public Servants Trade Unions (Memur-Sen), the Turkish States Relatives of Martyrs and Veterans Foundation, Engin Karakuş, Fatih Karaaslan and Ali Yalçın as plaintiff parties.

Journalists Kürşat Yılmaz and Görkem Kınacı’s trial adjourned until April

The fourth hearing in the trial of Evrensel newspaper Licensed Publisher Kürşat Yılmaz and Managing Editor Görkem Kınacı on charges of “defamation” and “insult” over a complaint filed by the Turkuvaz Media Group Vice President of the Board of Directors Serhat Albayrak was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 March 2024.

Lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Yılmaz and Kınacı did not attend the hearing.

Co-plaintiff Albayrak’s lawyer said, “The defendants have not presented any evidence to the file. There is no investigation or report concerning my client with judicial authorities. My client was mentioned in connection with allegations of corruption and bribery. Since the elements of the crime of insult and defamation have formed, we request the defendants to be sentenced separately for each news item.”

Yılmaz and Kınacı’s lawyer Devrim Avcı said, “The legal elements of the crime of insult have not formed. The news item reported on an alleged network of relationships voiced by Sedat Peker which includes the president of the Capital Markets Board, an AKP MP and the MP’s spouse and some bureaucrats. The fact that MPs from opposition parties had filed criminal complaints against these people was also included in the news item. Defamation is a crime that is committed with specific intent. However, specific intent is not the case here. My clients have used their freedom of expression and the press” and requested their acquittal.

The court adjourned the trial until 25 April 2024 to examine the written petition presented by lawyer Devrim Avcı.

At least 29 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 22 March 2024, there are at least 29 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.