MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli targets 154 academics and journalists; Vedat Demir's prison sentence overturned by the Court of Cassation; Mehmet Kamış and Ali Çolak released pending trial; top court rules for “rights violation” for fine against sendika.org

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli targets 154 academics and journalists

 

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli has threatened 154 people, including journalists and lawyers, over the murder of Sinan Ateş.

 

Bahçeli held a press conference for the first time on 23 July after his party's weekly group meeting on 24 June.  Targeting 154 people, including journalists, politicians, academics, and lawyers, over the murder of Sinan Ateş, Bahçeli said the following: "Some circles have made great injustices, slanders, lies, insults and accusations against the Nationalist Movement Party in 2024. The total of these is 154 people. As the Nationalist Movement Party, I would like to remind this fact to my dear brothers and sisters who are members of the press.

 

We are together with you a lot of the time, but there are some personalities on television with whom we parted. We find it difficult to accept them, but they are under our close surveillance. The list you see below is the total of who spoke on which program on which day and at which time, how they spoke, with whom they spoke and what insults they made against the MHP. We have this file. When the day comes, this file will be put into action. The action will be of a legal nature. They should save themselves from the nonsense and cowardice that they are targeting us. We will definitely settle accounts with them on the grounds of law."

 

The prison sentence against academic Vedat Demir overturned by the Court of Cassation

 

The 6-year and 8-month prison sentence given to academic Vedat Demir on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" over his columns, his dismissal by the State of Emergency Decree Law and his phone calls with colleagues was overturned by the Court of Cassation.

 

Demir was detained on 24 July as part of the investigations launched against journalists and academics following the 15 July 2016 coup attempt and was imprisoned pending trial 10 days later for "membership in a terrorist organization." Demir, who was held in Silivri Prison for nearly seven months, was released by the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on 17 February 2017. On 30 November 2020, at the 12th and final hearing held at İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court, the court sentenced Demir to 6 years and 8 months in prison.

 

On 22 July 2024, Demir announced on his X account that the Court of Cassation overturned the conviction with a request for "acquittal."

Prosecutor appeals acquittal verdict for 3 journalists

 

The prosecutor has appealed the acquittal verdicts rendered for Habibe Eren, Mehmet Günhan and Ceylan Şahinli in the case in which eight journalists working for Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and JinNews were sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison each on the charge of "membership in a terrorist organization” in Ankara.

 

In its petition for appeal, the prosecutor's office demanded that the acquittal verdicts be overturned, and the journalists be punished for "membership in a terrorist organization."

 

In the petition, it was claimed that MA and JinNews were "established with a legal appearance" and that "in line with the purpose of their establishment, hundreds of posts and so-called news reports, many of which are detailed in the indictment and which the defendants do not deny, claimed that crime ring leader [Abdullah Öcalan] has been kept under isolation; he is the victim of a conspiracy; hunger strikes should be supported and that the state is attacking the Kurdish people."

 

On the other hand, Ankara 4th High Criminal Court announced the reasoned verdict of the 6-year and 3-month prison sentences given to Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporters Selman Güzelyüz, Berivan Altan, Diren Yurtsever, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Zemo Ağgöz and Deniz Nazlım for " membership in a terrorist organization.”

 

The court considered the journalists' money transfers between each other, social media posts, books and magazines confiscated by the police during house raids, and Human Rights Association (İHD) reports on sick prisoners as criminal elements.

 

The court argued that the journalists tried to create perception through their news reports and claimed that the journalists who were sentenced to imprisonment aimed to "recruit armed members for the terrorist organization, to keep the motivation of the organization's sympathizers and members strong, to create the perception that Abdullah Öcalan has been kept under isolation and this is illegal; the state mistreats citizens of Kurdish origin, and the TSK uses chemical weapons."

 

MA Managing Editor Diren Yurtsever, MA Ankara News Chief Deniz Nazlım, MA reporters Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Ceylan Şahinli, JinNews reporters Habibe Eren, Öznur Değer were detained on 20 October 2022 and imprisoned pending trial on October 29. Yeni Yaşam newspaper distributor Hamdullah Bayram was also imprisoned pending trial on 20 March 2023 as part of the same investigation.

 

At the end of the investigation, an indictment was filed against 11 journalists on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization." At the first hearing of the case held on 16 May 2023, 10 journalists were released. The file of Bayram was separated.

 

At the final hearing of the trial held on 3 July, Yurtsever, Altan, Güzelyüz, Yalçın, Acar, Ağgöz, Nazlım and Değer were sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison each for “membership in a terrorist organization" and three journalists were acquitted.

 

Constitutional Court rules for “rights violation” for fine against sendika.org

 

The Constitutional Court has ruled that Sendika.Org being given a fine for reporting on TRT receiving an award from the "Salvation Government" of the Syrian jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a "violation of freedom of expression."

 

In 2019, the "Salvation Government" of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadist organization opposing Assad in Syria, which is on Turkey's "terrorist organization" list, awarded TRT and TRT World with a plaque for their "contribution to the revolution."

 

Producer Hasan Arber, reporter Ubeyde Hitto and cameraman Mehmet Faruk Yüce, who work for TRT and TRT World, received the plaque from Salvation Government leader Fawaz Hilal.

 

The news was announced on the organization's official website as "Salvation Government leader Fevaz Hilal honored TRT reporters."

 

On 8 July 2019, sendika.Org published an article titled "TRT was 'honored': They have received a plaque from HTS, which Turkey considers 'terrorist'."

 

TRT filed a lawsuit against Sendika.Org and editor Ali Ergin Demirhan for TL 20,00 in non-pecuniary damages. It claimed that the expressions in the news article exceeded the limit of harsh criticism and that the facts were manipulated.

 

İstanbul 8th Civil Court of First Instance rejected the lawsuit, ruling that the news report was within the limits of criticism and did not constitute an attack on TRT's personal rights.

 

Afterwards, TRT appealed the decision. In April 2022, the 4th Civil Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals overturned the local court's decision and accepted TRT's compensation claim.

 

Thereupon, Sendika.Org went to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court, which discussed the file in recent months, stated that there was no untrue or fabricated information in the news article. The Constitutional Court argued that it was in the public interest for Turkey's official broadcaster to report on a plaque received from an organization that the country has placed on the terror list.

 

Lawsuit filed against journalist Metin Cihan after Burak Erdoğan's complaint

 

A lawsuit was filed against journalist Metin Cihan on charges of "insult" and "defamation" upon the complaint of Ahmet Burak Erdoğan, the son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, over his social media posts.

 

In the indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Cihan's social media posts on the maritime trade between Turkey and Israel were cited as grounds for the charges.

 

The first hearing will be held on 14 February 2024 at İstanbul 46th Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Lawsuit filed against journalists Tunca Öğreten and Murat Baykara over documentary titled “Met Çıkmazı”

 

A lawsuit was filed against journalists Tunca Öğreten and Murat Baykara for "encouraging drug use" and "failing to report a crime" for the documentary titled “Met Çıkmazı,” which covers the increasing use of methamphetamine in Turkey.

 

Released on 12 January 2023, the introduction of the documentary includes the following statements: "The widespread use of the stimulant methamphetamine has become one of Turkey's biggest problems. In Voys' video ‘Met Çıkmazı,’ you will watch the horrifying consequences of #Methamphetamine use, how easily and cheaply it can be accessed, and how the substance is sold even in treatment centers."

 

The documentary received the "Special Jury Award" at the 26th Metin Göktepe Journalism Awards.

 

Access to Mezopotamya Agency's website blocked

 

Access to Mezopotamya Agency's website mezopotamyaajansi.net has been blocked by the Gümüşhane Criminal Judgeship of Peace’s decision dated 25 July 2024.

 

Pro-government media targets PEN member Gökhan Yavuzel

 

Writer Gökhan Yavuzel, a member of the PEN International, has been targeted by pro-government media outlets.

 

In a statement regarding the allegations that he is "linked to drug gangs," "lost money gambling" and "insulted the president," Yavuzel emphasized that he will take legal action.

 

In a statement on his social media account, Yavuzel said, "Let me say at the beginning what I should say at the end; I am not in the UK, I have not been detained for the alleged issues, all these claims are absurd, not a single line of it is true."

 

Investigation against MA reporter Ömer Akın

 

An investigation has been launched against Ömer Akın, a reporter for Mezopotamya Agency (MA) who covered the 31 March elections in central Şırnak, for sharing footage of soldiers moving into the city on election day.

 

Akın testified at the Cizre District Security Directorate as part of the investigation launched by İstanbul Bakırköy Press Crimes Branch. Akın was asked about the footage he took of soldiers voting in groups at a school and shared on his social media account. However, it was not stated on which article the investigation has been launched.

Journalists Mehmet Kamış and Ali Çolak released pending trial

 

The 22nd hearing in the trial of imprisoned journalists Mehmet Kamış and Ali Çolak on charges of "attempting to overthrow the Grand National Assembly of Turkey or preventing it from performing its duties," "attempting to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing it from performing its duties," "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" and "membership in a terrorist organization" was held on 25 July 2024 at İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court.

 

Kamış and his lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Çolak attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from Marmara L-Type Closed Prison where he has been kept since 9 July.

 

The court ruled for the release of Kamış and Çolak with a ban on leaving the country and obligation to check in police station every two weeks, considering the time the defendants have spent in detention and the current state of evidence in the file, and ruled that detention would not be proportionate at this stage.

 

The trial was adjourned until 12 November 2024.

 

Click here for a detailed report.

 

At least 26 journalist and media workers in prison

 

Following the release of Mehmet Kamış and Ali Çolak, as of 26 July 2024, there are at least 26 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.