Duygu Kıt provides a statement over her reporting after mine collapse; Dutch parliament takes “Kavala and Demirtaş” step; Oktay Candemir investigated for “insulting a public official;” court separates Hüseyin Aykol and Reyhan Çapan’s case file

Duygu Kıt provides statement to prosecutor’s office over reporting after mine collapse

An investigation on suspicion of “spreading false information” and “defamation” has been launched against journalist Duygu Kıt. The complaint was filed over Kıt’s news item titled “Ergan'daki taş ocağına tepki: Köyler alana 500 metre uzaklıkta" (“Opposition to quarry in Errgan: Villages just 500 meters from the site”) on a limestone quarry to be built near the skiing center in Ergan district following the mine collapse, which occurred in the İliç district of Erzincan on 13 February 2024 and resulted in the death of nine workers.

Journalist Kıt provided a statement to the prosecutor’s office in Tunceli on 17 April 2024 following the investigation being filed upon the Erzincan Governor’s Offices complaint. In her statement Kıt said, “As I practice journalism, it is both my right and duty to report on a development that could place nature and the environment under risk” and rejected the allegations.

Click here for a detailed report.

Oktay Candemir investigated on charge of “insulting a public official”

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate for the Mayor of Van Metropolitan Muncipality Abdulahat Arvas has filed a complaint against journalist Oktay Candemir on allegation of “insulting a public official” over a claim that Candemir had called him “hırsız, zimmetçi, ihaleci” (thief, usurper, tender-fixer) in an article.

As part of the investigation launched upon the complaint, Candemir went to the İpekyolu District Directorate of Security in Van, accompanied by his lawyer Simin Atabay, to provide a statement.

Candemir said that Arvas was not a public official but a former MP and politician, and added, “Abdulahat Arvas is a politician and that I exercised my right to criticize publicly well known people. This comes under the freedom of the press. My criticisms target the political identity of this person.”

Kati Piri: Dutch parliament will not take up the customs union agreement with Turkey until the Kavala and Demirtaş judgments are implemented

Former European Union rapporteur to Turkey and Dutch MP Kati Piri has announced that the Dutch parliament will not take up the modernization of the customs union agreement with Turkey until the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments regarding Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş are implemented.

Piri wrote the following on her social media account: “No modernization of customs union with Turkey until the verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights on the immediate release of Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas are implemented. Dutch parliament just adopted my motion ahead of EU Council.”

According to the motion that was accepted, unless Turkey implements the ECtHR judgments regarding Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, the Netherlands may veto any decisions on the modernization of the Tukey-EU customs union.

Turkey has long been pushing for the modernization of the customs union.

BirGün reporter Asena Tunca appears before court

The first hearing in the trial of BirGün reporter Asena Tunca, who was detained while she was reporting, along with 76 members of the SOL Party who were protesting the government and the Turkish Red Crescent following the earthquakes, on the charge of “violating the Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the Anadolu 14th Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 April 2024.

Lawyer Mustafa Aydın Başalmaz requested the immediate acquittal of all defendants, without commencing with court statements.

The presiding judge said that no verdict could be announced before the defendants had provided a defense statement and rejected the request for immediate acquittal by lawyer Aydın.

In her defense statement, Tunca said the following: “I followed protests by democratic mass organizations that day. One of them was the SOL Party. While the police encircled us, I told them I was a journalist. When I told them this, I was pulled strongly from my neck and detained. I fail to understand where such hatred comes from. I was doing my job. I request my acquittal.”

The court ordered those defendants whose defense statement had not been taken to be made present at the next hearing and adjourned the trial until 27 September 2024.

Journalists Can Dündar and İnan Kızılkaya’s trial adjourned

The hearing in the trial of journalists Can Dündar and İnan Kızılkaya on the charge of “insulting a public official” at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which was expected to be held on 18 April 2024, was not held as the presiding judge was on leave.

 

The indictment, which was filed by prosecutor Murat İnam upon the complaint of the then İstanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace judge Bekir Altun, cites the news item titled “Saray rejiminin en kullanışlı hakimi” (“The most useful judge of the palace regime”) which appeared in the 22 June 2016 issue of now-defunct Özgür Gündem, at the time Dündar acted as the newspaper’s editor on watch, as evidence of the charges.

 

Journalist Furkan Karabay appears before court

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay on charges of “insult” and “defamation” upon the complaint of President Erdoğan’s former lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal was held at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 April 2024.

 

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

 

Karabay delivered his defense statement following identification and said, “In the posts subject to the charge, I did not make claims of the FETO stock exchange concerning the complainant, I did not give any names. He took it on himself. There are no insults or defamation in my posts. The prosecutor’s office filed the indictment by copying and pasting complaint petitions against me. I request my acquittal.”

 

Karabay’s lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner, who said that the investigation file consisted of a merger of four different investigations, spoke as follows: “The prosecutor has filed a careless case file that violates procedure. It is not stated clearly which expressions used in the posts constitute insults and which one constitute defamation. We request the lifting of the ban on my client travelling abroad and the obligation for him to sign his name at the police station [on a periodical basis].”

 

Complainant Mustafa Doğan İnal’s lawyer said they upheld their complainant and requested to join the case as co-plaintiff.

 

The prosecutor for the hearing requested the lifting of judicial control measures on Karabay.

 

The court ruled to lift the judicial control measures on Karabay as he had provided a defense statement, and accepted the request by Mustafa Doğan İnal to join the case. The trial was adjourned until 5 November 2024.

 

The one-page long indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office lists three social media posts by Karabay as evidence of the charges.

 

Court separates Hüseyin Aykol and Reyhan Çapan’s case file

The case file on Özgür Gündem newspaper’s former editor-in-chief Hüseyin Aykol, managing editor Reyhan Çapan and newspaper contributors on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” and “praising an offense or an offender” over articles on autonomy published in the newspaper in 2016 with the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court has been merged with the case file with the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court in between hearings.

 

At the 11 January 2024 hearing in the trial, the court had ruled to request the acquiescence of the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court for merging the cases against Çapan and Aykol with legal and material connections.

 

Journalists Aziz Oruç and Ersin Çaksu’s hearing postponed due to judge being on leave

The 18 April 2024 hearing in the trial of journalists Aziz Oruç and Ersin Çaksu on the charge of “denigrating the Turkish nation, the state of the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state” at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance was not held as the judge was on leave.

 

The indictment lists news items and columns which appeared in the Özgürlükçü Demokrasinewspaper, which was later shut down by statutory decree, between 21 October 2016 and 1 November 2016 as evidence of the charge against the journalists.

 

Ahmet Sever’s hearings postponed due to judge being on leave

Two hearings for two cases in which journalist and writer Ahmet Sever is being tried on the charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official” over some expressions in his book titled “İçimde kalmasın: Tanıklığımdır” were postponed because the judge for the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance was on leave.

 

Demokratik Modernite hearing postponed due to judge being on leave

The fifth hearing in the trial of Demokratik Modernite magazine Managing Editor Ramazan Yurttapan and editor Haydar Ergül on the charge of “insulting the president,” which was set for 18 April 2024, was postponed because the judge for the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance was on leave.

 

Journalist Baransel Ağca’s hearing postponed due to judge being on leave

The 18 April 2024 hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “insulting the president” was postponed because the judge for the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance was on leave.

 

Trial of six journalists who were assaulted and detained adjourned until June 2024

The second hearing in the trial of journalists Serpil Ünal, Yadigar Aygün, Pınar Gayıp, Eylem Nazlıer, Zeynep Kuray and Esra Soybir, who were assaulted and detained while reading out a press statement against the detentions of press workers in Kadıköy, İstanbul on 29 April 2023, on the charge of “violating the Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the Anadolu 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 April 2024.

 

While the journalists, who are free pending trial, did not attend the hearing, their lawyers Devrim Avcı Özkurt and Ezgi Köse were present.

 

The panel of judges ruled to await the response to the writ sent to the Antalya 34th Criminal Court of First Instance to receive the defense statement of Esra Soybir, who had not provided a statement at the first hearing.

 

The trial was adjourned until 13 June 2024.

 

Ayşe Kara’s trial on charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” begins

The re-trial of the case in which journalist Geşbun Ayşe Kara was tried on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” and acquitted, began at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 16 April 2024, after the appellate court’s decision to overturn the verdict.

While journalist Kara did not attend the hearing, her lawyer Resul Temur was present.

Asked for the whereabouts of his client by the presiding judge, lawyer Temur said that his client was abroad and would notify the court of her address to provide a statement abroad.

The prosecutor requested the missing elements in the court file to be completed.

Announcing its interim order, the court ruled to request the investigation file on Kara from the Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office and adjourned the trial until 16 July 2024.

Journalist Mehmet Göcekli’s trial adjourned until July

The sixth hearing in the trial of Demokrat Haber Editor-in-Chief and Licensed Publisher Mehmet Göcekli on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” was held at the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court on 16 April 2024.

 

No parties attended the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Göcekli’s detention and adjourned the trial until 18 July 2024.

 

The indictment lists Göcekli’s social media posts, which include news items published in Demokrat Haber between 2011-2016 and posts sharing news items published in Demokrat Haber between 2015-2018 as evidence of the charge.

 

Journalist Hayko Bağdat’s trial adjourned

The 16th hearing in the trial of journalist Hayko Bağdat on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 51st Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 April 2024.

 

No parties attended the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Bağdat’s detention and adjourned the trial until 22 October 2024.

 

At least 28 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 19 April 2024, there are at least 28 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here