RTÜK revokes Açık Radyo’s broadcasting license; Osman Kavala’s application to Ministry of Justice for “retrial” rejected; Halkın Günlüğü reporter Sertan Önal released; 8 journalists sentenced to imprisonment in trial of 11 defendant journalists; 8 journalists acquitted in 4 cases

Açık Radyo’s broadcasting license revoked by RTÜK

Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) revoked the broadcasting license for Açık Radyo on 3 July 2024.

 

In its decision on 22 May 2024, RTÜK had issued an administrative fine to Açık Radyo, as well as the suspension of the broadcast of the Açık Gazete program for five days, from 10 June to 14 June 2024. In its most recent decision, the board stated that while Açık Radyo had received the notice for broadcast suspension on 31 May 2024, it had continued its broadcasts and thereby violated article 32 of the Law 6112.

 

Issuing a statement, Açık Radyo said that the channel had not been notified of the decision and that they had learned about RTÜK revoking their broadcast license at its meeting dated 3 July 2024.

 

The justification for the broadcast suspension decision was given as expressions used on the 24 April 2024 edition of the daily news program Açık Gazete violating the principle of “broadcasting services may not differentiate on the basis of race, language, religion, sex, class, region or sect to provoke society to hatred and enmity or to instigate feelings of hatred in society.”

 

Osman Kavala’s application to the Ministry of Justice for “retrial” rejected

The application by Osman Kavala, whose sentence for aggravated life imprisonment in the Gezi trial has been approved, to the Ministry of Justice for a retrial was rejected.

In its decision dated 26 June 2024, the Ministry of Justice referred to article 312 in the section “crimes against the government” and said “Overturning for the sake of the law will not apply against the ruling of the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court dated 25 April 2024 and numbered 2024/64 (amended) given the scope of the case, the justification and the verdict of the court.”

 

Kavala’s lawyer Hilal Zengin had applied for a retrial on 30 April 2024, based on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court unanimously rejected the request for a “retrial” on 13 March 2024, upon which lawyer Zengin appealed to the Ministry of Justice.

 

Click here for a detailed report on the background of the case.

 

Halkın Günlüğü reporter Sertan Önal released

Halkın Günlüğü newspaper reporter Sertan Önal, who was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention after being detained by the police in İstanbul on 23 February 2018 was released.

 

Önal was detained over an investigation filed against him in Tunceli and was imprisoned over events he attended in Tunceli for reporting purposes.

 

Journalist Hasan Mert Çakmak imprisoned over his posts concerning attacks on Syrians

 

Yeniçağ newspaper Kayseri correspondent Hasan Mert Çakmak was sent to pre-trial detenion on 2 July 2024 over his social media posts concerning attacks on Syrians in Kayseri following the spread of reports that a Syrian perpetrator had sexually assaulted a Syrian girl.

Many homes, businesses and vehicles were damaged in the attacks against Syrians.

The incidents spread from Kayseri to other cities in Turkey.

New expert report requested in trial of Yağmur Kaya

The ninth hearing in the trial of journalist Yağmur Kaya and 51 Boğaziçi University students on the charge of “violating the Law 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the İstanbul 17th Criminal Court of First Instance on 5 July 2024.

 

Defendant Gamze Toprak and defense lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Kaya did not attend the hearing.

 

Kaya’s lawyer Emine Özhasar requested the completion of the missing elements in the case file. Other defense lawyers requested the separation of the case files for defendants who had not been apprehended and the immediate release of their clients.

 

The court rejected the request for separating the case file for non-apprehended clients and for the immediate acquittal of others, and ruled to issue an order for the detention of defendant Şükran Yaren Tuncer. The court ruled to issue a writ to the Çapa Faculty of Medicine Institute of Forensic Sciences of İstanbul University for a report to be filed to determine whether there was any tampering in CD and images provided to the court by journalist Yağmur Kaya and camera footage provided by the Directorate of Security.

 

The trial was adjourned until 11 October 2024.

 

Two trials of journalist Metin Cihan adjourned

The eighth hearing in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan on the charge of “insulting a public official” over a complaint filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak was held at the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance on 4 July 2024.

 

Lawyers for the parties presented excuses not to attend the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The hearing was held summarily, and the court ruled to await the execution of the order for Cihan’s detention.

 

The trial was adjourned until 21 November 2024.

 

The third hearing in the trial of Cihan using a new case number on the charge of “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data” over sharing the Türkiye Gençlik Vakfı (TÜGVA) documents which allegedly show the caderisation of state positions was held at the İstanbul 22ndCriminal Court of First Instance on 5 July 2024.

 

Lawyers for the parties presented excuses not to attend the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The hearing was held summarily and the trial was adjourned.

 

At the 28 April 2023 hearing in the trial in which Cihan was on trial along with Ramazan Aydoğdu, who allegedly leaked the TÜGVA documents, the court sentenced Aydoğdu to imprisonment, separated the case against Cihan and registered it under a new case number.

 

Case of 9 journalists broguh upon complaint by President Erdoğan’s former lawyer adjourned

The ninth hearing in the trial of journalists Can Bursalı, Barış Terkoğlu, Barış Pehlivan, Gökmen Karadağ, Doğan Akın, Nevzat Çiçek, Can Özçelik, Fatih Portakal and Ayşenur Arslan on charges of “insult” and “defamation” over a complaint filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s former lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 4 July 2024.

 

Defendant Doğan Akın and defense lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The presiding judge said that the case filed against journalist Ayşenur Arslan over a complaint by Mustafa Doğan İnal had been merged with the present case between hearings.

 

Delivering his defense statement after identification, Doğan Akın said, “I am on trial for reporting on statements by a member of parliament. The member of parliament issued a statement. We reported on the statement with no commentary, in line with press principles and the public interest. That such a professional undertaking be the subject of accusations would render journalism unpracticable,” and rejected the impugned crime.

 

Akın’s lawyer Aslı Kazan said, “The indictment states the date of the news item subject to the charges as 16 February 2021. However, the news item was published on 16 December 2020. The news item published on 16 December 2020 concerns plaintiff Mustafa Doğan İnal being a suspect in a case. The news item does not include a voice recording. The news item only contains statements by a member of parliament concerning İnal and the information that the MP had filed a criminal complaint against İnal. The news item subject to the case meets all criteria for legality.” Lawyer Kazan said that the elements of the impugned crime had not formed and requested the acquittal of her client Akın. Other defense lawyers repeated their previous defense statements and repeated their requests for acquittal.

 

The court ruled for defendant Fatih Portakal, who is yet to deliver a defense statement, to be present at the next hearing. The trial was adjourned until 28 November 2024.

 

The claims that President Erdoğan’s former lawyer İnal had received TL 15,000,000 in representation fees from the Metropolitan Municipality of İstanbul (İBB) was presented in the book titled Metastaz 2: Cendere, co-authored by Barış Terkoğlu and Barış Pehlivan. Bursalı had written about the claims in a news item published in Independent Türkçe on 3 December 2020. The indictment argued that claims that the İBB had given power of lawyer to İnal, despite İnal not being a lawyer on the municipality’s roster had “harmed İnal’s honor, dignity and social standing.”

 

Action for damages against Şebnem Korur Fincancı adjourned until September

The fourth hearing in the action for damages filed by the Ministry of National Defense against Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Central Council President Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı was held at the Ankara 2nd Civil Court of First Instance on 4 July 2024.

With Fincancı not attending the hearing and lawyers for the parties presenting excuses, the hearing was held summarily.

The action was adjourned until 24 September 2024.

Korur Fincancı was sued over her televised remarks about allegations that the Turkish Armed Forces had used chemical weapons on a live broadcast on Medya Haber.

 

Eight journalists sentenced to imprisonment in trial of 11 journalists in Ankara

 

The fifth and final hearing in the trial of 11 journalists employed by the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and JinNews was held at the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on 3 July 2024.

 

While the journalists did not attend the hearing, their lawyers were present.

 

The lawyers delivered defense statements against the prosecutor’s opinion calling for sentencing, which had been presented at the previous hearing.

 

The court took a recess following lawyers’ statements, and announced its ruling after the recess; sentencing Habibe Eren, Ceylan Şahinli ve Mehmet Günhan’ın beraatına, Diren Yurtsever, Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Zemo Ağgöz, Deniz Nazlım and Öznur Değer to 6 years and 3 months of imprisonment each.

 

MA reporters Diren Yurtsever, Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Ceylan Şahinli, Zemo Ağgöz and Deniz Nazlım; JinNews reporters Habibe Eren and Öznur Değer and former MA intern Mehmet Günhan were imprisoned pending trial as part of an Ankara-based investigation on 29 October 2022 and were released on 16 May 2023.

 

Barış Pehlivan and Mustafa Büyüksipahi acquitted

 

The seventh hearing in the trial of former Cumhuriyet newspaper publication coordinator and 12punto Editor-in-Chief Mustafa Büyüksipahi and Cumhuriyet contributor Barış Pehlivan on the charge of “insulting a public official” over their reporting on member of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) Hamit Kocabey was held at the Ankara 19th Criminal Court of First Instance on 3 July 2024.

 

Pehlivan and his lawyers Enes Ermaner and Doğu Akoluk were present at the hearing.

 

The court ruled that “elements of the impugned crime had not formed” and to acquit the two defendants.

Trial of İsminaz Temel and Havva Cuştan adjourned until November

The 27th hearing in the trial of 23 people, including Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor İsminaz Temel, former ETHA reporter Havva Cuştan and lawyers for the Law Office of the Oppressed (EHB) on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court on 3 July 2024.

 

Defendants Sezin Uçar, Özlem Gümüştaş and Ali Haydar Doğan, and defense lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

Defendants Özlem Gümüştaş and Sezin Uçar delivered defense statements for the case against them that was merged with the present one. Gümüştaş said, “The merged file was prepared and presented over the confessions of someone turned state’s evidence. However, both the impugned crime and actions are the same as in the present case file. There is not even a single piece of new evidence.” Gümüştaş requested the lifting of the judicial control applying to them due to the merger of the case files.

 

Delivering a defense statement concerning the merged file, Sezin Uçar said, “I have been a lawyer for nearly 20 years. I have witnessed many trials motivated by political purposes. But the present case is the worst I have seen from a legal and political perspective. It is an attempt at creating a crime. I reject the charges and request that the judicial control measures be lifted.”

 

The court ruled to convey the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of the opinion concerning the merged case. The court also ruled to lift the obligation to sign her name for Özlem Gümüştaş, while ruling to keep in place the judicial control measures applying to other defendants.

 

The trial was adjourned until 13 November 2024.

 

 

 

Prosecutor requests sentencing for Furkan Karabay

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay on charges of “marking those involved in the fight against terrorism as targets” and “insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 24th High Criminal Court on 2 July 2024. The case against Karabay was filed over his news item titled “Mafya davasında rüşvet kavgası tutanaklarda: Polis nereye bıraktıysa oradan aldı, konuşursam çarşı pazar karışır,” (“Minutes show bribery fight in mafia case: Police picked it up right where they dropped it off; What I could tell would cause an uproar”) which appeared in the Gerçek Gündem newspaper and a social media post.

 

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

 

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor requested sentencing for Karabay for the charges of “marking those involved in the fight against terrorism as targets” and “insulting a public official.”

 

Karabay’s lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner presented the expert opinion, which the P24 Platform for Independent Journalism had lawyer Benan Molu prepare, to the court and requested time to set up a counter-statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion. Lawyer Ermaner also requested the court to lift the ban on Karabay travelling abroad.

 

The court ruled to lift the ban on Karabay travelling abroad, accepted the request for time and adjourned the trial until 1 October 2024.

 

Karabay was sent to pre-trial detention by the İstanbul 7th Criminal Court of Peace on 29 December 2023 over the news item and social media post subject to the case on the charge of “marking those involved in the fight against terrorism as targets.” Upon the objection to his imprisonment, Karabay was released on 8 January 2024 under an obligation to sign his name once a week at the police station and a ban on travelling abroad.

Elif Akgül and Haluk Kalafat acquitted of "denigrating the Turkish nation"

The fifth hearing in the trial of journalists Elif Akgül and Haluk Kalafat on the charge of “publicly denigrating the Turkish nation” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 2 July 2024.

 

Akgül, Kalafat and their lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to separately acquit Elif Akgül and Haluk Kalafat on the grounds that the impugned action is not defined as a crime in the law.

 

Click here for a detailed report.

 

Journalist Baransel Ağca's trial adjourned until November

The sixth hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “illegally obtaining personal data” was held at the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance on 2 July 2024.

Ağca and his lawyer did not attend the hearing.

The trial was adjourned until 19 November 2024.

 

 

Journalist Onur Öncü acquitted at first hearing

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Onur Öncü on the charge of “spreading false information” over a social media post was held at the Küçükçekmece 26th Criminal Court of First Instance on 1 July 2024.

 

Öncü and his lawyer Fatih Aydın were present at the hearing.

 

In his defense statement Öncü said, “As I said in my statement to the police; I did not intend to spread false information but to convey the situation by quoting a post by a journalist. In my commentary concerning this information, I mentioned the Green Left Party watch in Hakkari concerning claims of electoral irregularities. At the time, I was in İstanbul. I reject the charge and request my acquittal.”

 

Lawyer Fatih Aydın, who said that it was public knowledge his client was a journalist said that they had expected a decision not to prosecute following the statement delivered to the police.

 

The prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case and requested journalist Öncü’s acquittal on grounds that “no evidence could be obtained which show that the [information posted] could result in a tangible threat to societal wellbeing and order.”

 

After a recess, the court ruled to acquit Öncü.

 

In a social media post concerning irregularities in the vote count in the general election held on 14 March 2023, Öncü had written “Votes for the Green Left Party in several ballots in Hakkari, Diyarbakır and Urfa were recorded for the MHP and the MHP achieved 10 percent of the vote by stealing votes. Meanwhile, the YSP has begun a watch against ballot theft in Hakkari,” which put him on trial.

 

Action for damages against journalists İzel Sezer and Doğan Ergün rejected

The seventh hearing in the action for damages worth TL 20,000 TL filed by former AKP MP for Ankara Ali İhsan Arslan against then Editor-in-Chief of İleri Haber Doğan Ergün and News Manager İzel Sezer was heldat the Ankara 20th Civil Court of First Instance on 1 July 2024. The action was filed over the news item titled “Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığında milyonluk ihale oyunu,” (“Set-up for millions in tenders at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry”) which was published in İleri Haber on 25 October 2021.

 

While journalists Sezer and Ergün did not attend the hearing, their lawyer Ahmet Faruk Ümüt was present.

 

Lawyer Ümüt reminded the court that the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office had issued a decision not to prosecute concerning the news item subject to the case and said, “The decision not to prosecute has been finalized. The news item was taken from another news site and as a news item which does not contain unequivocal judgments and does not constitute a crime, it comes under the freedom of the press.”

 

Lawyer Ümüt requested the action to be dismissed.

 

The court ruled to dismiss the action, with the possibility of an appeal to a higher court.

 

At least 27 journalist and media workers in prison

According to data obtained by Expression Interrupted, following the release of Sertan Önal, as of 6 July 2024, there are at least 27 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.