Dilruba Kayserilioğlu imprisoned over remarks during street interview released; Gökçer Tahincioğlu under investigation for “insulting Turkish nation;” access to 69 X accounts blocked upon gendarmerie's request; RTÜK fines Tele 1 and Flash Haber

Dilruba Kayserilioğlu imprisoned over remarks during street interview released pending trial

Dilruba Kayserilioğlu, who was sent to pre-trial detention on charges of “insulting the president” and “inciting the people to hatred and enmity” over her remarks on the Instagram ban and government policies during a street interview, was released on 29 August 2024 at around 9:00 p.m.

Kayserilioğlu's mother stated that the release decision was not notified neither to the family nor to her lawyer and that they will file a criminal complaint: “My daughter was released yesterday evening, but neither I nor her lawyer knew about it. Her lawyer or family should have been called. They released her suddenly with a black bag in her hand. At that hour, a young person is released without her mother or lawyer being informed. My daughter had nothing on her, then she found a phone. That is how she called and informed me. 'Mommy, do not cry. They released me,' she said. I called her friends and they picked her up. What if something happened to her there? It is a secluded place, a place where there are criminals around. We will file a criminal complaint on this issue as well.”

Dilruba Kayserilioğlu, who criticized the access block to Instagram in a video published on 8 August 2024 on the YouTube channel Tüylü Mikrofon in İzmir, was imprisoned pending trial on 12 August 2024 and sent to Izmir Aliağa Prison. The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued an indictment against Dilruba Y. in a short period of time and a trial date was set for 3 September 2024. Kayserilioğlu's lawyer Hüseyin Yıldız had objected to his client's detention last week. After considering the objection, the court released Diruba Y. on 20 August on the charge of “insulting the president.” The court rejected the objection to the imprisonment decision issued on the charge of “inciting the people to hatred and enmity.”

Gökçer Tahincioğlu under investigation for “insulting Turkish nation"

An investigation was launched against journalist and writer Gökçer Tahincioğlu on charges of “publicly insulting 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” over sharing images related to allegations that some voters had been moved to certain districts for voting during the March 31 local elections. 

Tahincioğlu, who gave a statement at Ankara Yıldızevler Police Station on 29 August 2024 as part of the investigation, said in a post on the X platform that the investigation against him was initiated after the gendarmerie filed a criminal complaint.

Access to 69 X accounts blocked upon the gendarmerie's request

Gümüşhane Criminal Judgeship of Peace imposed an access ban on 69 X accounts, including journalists Amberin Zaman, Deniz Tekin, Öznur Değer and Berçem Mordeniz and Yeni Yaşam newspaper.


Gümüşhane Provincial Gendarmerie Command teams applied to the court for the closure of 69 X accounts as part of their “virtual patrol” activities.
After evaluating the complaint, Gümüşhane Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued a decision to “remove the content and block access to the URL addresses” of the accounts on the grounds of “preventing the commission of crimes, protecting the right to life and the security of life and property, protecting national security and public order.”


In the decision dated 20 August 2024, the judgeship stated that “it has been observed that there are publications that constitute the crime of ‘terrorist organization propaganda,’ and therefore it has been evaluated that it is important to block them for the protection of national security and public order.”
Among the accounts blocked are Ertuğrul Kürkçü, former Honorary President of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has later become DEM Party, and Cansu Özdemir, Co-Chair of the Left Party Group in the Hamburg Parliament.
The decision was sent to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) for further action.

In 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled an article of the law authorizing the police and gendarmerie to conduct “virtual patrols” on the internet on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

RTÜK fines Tele 1 and Flash Haber

Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) member İlhan Taşcı announced that RTÜK imposed a 3 percent administrative fine and three-time program suspension on Tele 1 and Flash Haber.


RTÜK held its regular weekly meeting and issued a fine over a remark by Merdan Yanardağ, who had said, “They destroyed the social state and secular education system. They established a corruption regime through foundations. Twenty-three years was a period of looting and profiteering. They created a conservative Islamist oligarchy.” Tele 1 was penalized for “humiliation" over Yanardağ's statement.

The Council fined Flash Haber for “contradicting national and spiritual values” over the answers given by theologian Cemil Kılıç to viewers' questions about Islam in the program “Enlightenment with Cemil Kılıç.”
RTÜK also sanctioned Kafa Radyo, Yıldız En and Ekin Türk for not complying with commercial communication and advertising time rules.


New judicial year begins

The judicial holiday, which started on 20 July 2024, ends on 1 September. The new judicial year will begin with a ceremony to be held at the Court of Cassation on 2 September, as 1 September falls on a Sunday.
With the start of the new judicial year, pending cases due to the judicial holiday will be resumed from next week.

Among the cases are numerous journalism and freedom of expression cases involving journalists, writers, artists and others.
For a full list of upcoming press freedom and freedom of expression trials, see our trial calendar.

At least 25 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 2 September 2024 there are at least 25 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a finalized prison sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.