Expression Interrupted

Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 466

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 466

RTÜK fines Halk TV over “smiling;” reporters intervened during broadcasting in village where Narin Güran was murdered; prosecutor demanded sentencing for Can Ataklı

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed a 3 percent administrative fine on Halk TV for the expressions and “gestures” used in a program featuring former LDP leader Cem Toker.

In its fine, RTÜK noted that Toker's statements against MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, “I do not know if Bahçeli is taken that seriously in Turkish politics, if his statements are discussed that much,” exceeded the limits of criticism.

In response to Toker's remarks, presenter Sinem Fıstıkoğlu said, “[He is] taken seriously, sir, I mean, since he is a partner of a legitimate government, what he says binds us, of course.” Toker's smile following the remark was also considered grounds for punishment.

Halk TV reporter Ferit Demir and cameraman Hasan Bıra were intervened during broadcasting

Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç and Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya visited the grave of murdered 8-year-old Narin Güran. The ministers then set off for the Diyarbakır Governor's Office.

Before the arrival of the ministers, Halk TV reporter Ferit Demir joined the live broadcast from the front of the governor's office and explained the developments in the investigation. At this point, two officials approached Demir and cameraman Hasan Bıra and asked them to end the live broadcast. When Demir continued broadcasting, they threatened to intervene and interrupt the broadcast.

The guard said, “Look, I will block it. We will have problems. I will prevent it.” Demir said, “Security guards and bodyguards are preventing us from broadcasting. They are telling us not to broadcast.”

Trial of singer Ferhat Tunç adjourned until January 2025

The 16th hearing in the trial of singer Ferhat Tunç for “insulting” then prime minister Binali Yıldırım over his social media posts in 2016 was held at the Büyükçekmece 16th Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

No one attended the hearing.

The court ruled to await the execution of the arrest warrant against Tunç, and adjourned the trial until 13 January 2025.

Trial of Faruk Eren adjourned until November

 

The 3rd hearing in the retrial of journalist Faruk Eren for “not publishing the correction and reply duly” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

Eren did not attend the hearing whereas his lawyer Abbas Yalçın was present. P24 monitored the hearing.

The lawyer of the complainant Halit Sabaz stated that they agree with the final opinion and demanded that Eren be punished.

Eren's lawyer Abbas Yalçın demanded acquittal in line with the Constitutional Court's violation decision on the HAGB (deferment of the sentence.) Yalçın said, “The Constitutional Court ruled a violation in the case and sent the file to remedy the consequences of the violation. The prosecutor’s office gave an acquittal opinion in the first hearing in the retrial. In the next hearing, it changed its opinion and asked for the client to be punished. Any decision other than acquittal will be against the law. Even if you issue a decision of dismissal, the consequences of the violation will not disappear.”

 

The court adjourned the trial until 22 November 2025 to review the file.

The plaintiff Halit Sabaz had requested a retraction for the news article titled “Successor-predecessor mayors turned out to be former partners, the new mayor's company received a tender from the municipality, Politics became a partner in trade” on the first and sixth pages of Cumhuriyet newspaper dated 30 April 2018, and the request was accepted by the Kayseri 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace on 15 May 2018. Although the retraction was published in the 8 June 2018 issue of Cumhuriyet, a lawsuit was filed against Eren, the then responsible managing editor, on the grounds that it was “not duly published.” At the end of the trial, Eren was sentenced, and his sentence was deferred. Following the Constitutional Court's ruling on the violation of the HAGB (deferment of the sentence,) the case was sent to the court of first instance for retrial.

Retrial of journalist Ahmet Sever adjourned

The third hearing in the retrial of journalist Ahmet Sever on the charge of “insult” following the complaint of former Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

 

The hearing was monitored by P24, and the lawyers of the parties were present.

 

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented in the previous hearing and demanded sentencing for Sever. The lawyer of the plaintiff Varank stated that they agreed with the final opinion and demanded Sever be sentenced.

 

Sever's lawyer Oya Aydın Göktaş said, “After the Constitutional Court's violation decision, the prosecutor first asked for acquittal, then changed their final opinion and asked for the client to be punished. We do not accept the final opinion as it is. The Constitutional Court ruled that the courts violated freedom of expression by using the HAGB (deferment of the sentence) as a tool. The violation of rights in question is not against the institution of HAGB, but against the fact that this institution constitutes an obstacle to freedom of expression and is abused, in the words of the Constitutional Court. We demand a verdict of acquittal given the Constitutional Court's decision.”

 

The court adjourned the trial until 22 November 2024 for a verdict.

 

In an interview with a journalist, Ahmet Sever, who published a book about his time as Abdullah Gül's press advisor, had said that the group on social media, described as “Ak trolls,” was directed by Varank, who was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's advisor at the time. Upon Varank's complaint, Sever, against whom an “insult” lawsuit was filed, was sentenced to a fine of TL 10,620, and the court later decided to defer the sentence. (HAGB) Sever then filed an individual application to the Constitutional Court as there was no appeal against the HAGB decisions. The Constitutional Court consolidated similar applications with this case. The Supreme Court stated that the interventions arising from the application of the HAGB did not meet the legality criterion and concluded that the “right to freedom of expression” was violated. Following this decision, the retrial started on 23 February 2024.

Trials of Ahmet Sever adjourned until January 2025

 

The hearings in three separate cases against journalist-writer Ahmet Sever on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official” were held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

 

 

Sever did not attend the hearing whereas his lawyer Oya Aydın Göktaş was present. P24 monitored the hearing.

 

The court ruled to ask the outcome of the rogatory letters.

 

The trials were adjourned until 14 January 2025.

Retrial of journalists İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan adjourned until November for verdict

 

The 3rd hearing in the retrial of now-defunct Özgür Gündem daily Responsible Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan, who had become editor-in-chief for one day to act in solidarity with the newspaper, on the charge of  “insulting the president” over a news item was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

 

Çaralan and Kızılkaya did not attend the hearing whereas their lawyers were present. P24 monitored the hearing.

 

Prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case they delivered at the previous hearing and demanded sentencing for the impugned crime. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's lawyer also requested sentencing for the journalists.

Kızılkaya's lawyer Özcan Kılıç and Çaralan's lawyer Devrim Avcı demanded the acquittal of their clients in accordance with the violation decision of the Constitutional Court on the “deferment of the sentence."

The court adjourned the trial until 22 November 2024 for a verdict.

Çaralan and Kızılkaya have been on trial over a news item published in now-defunct Özgür Gündem daily.

 

Trial of Osman Akın adjourned until November for verdict

 

The 3rd hearing in the retrial of journalist Osman Akın on charge of “insulting the military and security organization of the state” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

 

Akın did not attend the hearing whereas his lawyer Özcan Kılıç was present. P24 monitored the hearing.

 

Prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case which they had delivered at the previous hearing, and demanded sentencing for the impugned crime. Akın's lawyer Özcan Kılıç demanded the acquittal of his client.

 

The court adjourned the trial until 22 November 2024 for a verdict.

Journalist Faruk Arhan's compensation case adjourned

The third hearing in the 50 thousand TL non-pecuniary damages lawsuit filed against journalist Faruk Arhan upon the complaint filed by former AKP Erzurum MP Zehra Taşkesenlioğlu was held at the Ankara Gölbaşı 1st Civil Court of First Instance on 12 September 2024.

The case was adjourned pending the outcome of the case filed against Faruk Arhan on Taşkesenlioğlu's complaint, which was concluded at the Ankara 25th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Trial of 46 people detained during protest by Saturday Mothers/People adjourned until January 2025

The 13th hearing in the trial of 46 people who were detained during the 700th week meeting of Saturday Mothers/People on charge of “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the İstanbul 21st Court of First Instance on 13 September 2024.

The court separated the file of two defendants whose defense statements were not taken, and sent the file to the prosecutor's office for the final opinion to be drafted.

The trial was adjourned until 10 January 2025.

Serhat Albayrak's compensation case against academic Ceren Sözeri adjourned until April 2025

The 11th hearing in the compensation lawsuit filed by Turkuvaz Media Group Chairman Serhat Albayrak against Evrensel newspaper contributor and academic Ceren Sözeri was held at the İstanbul 2nd Commercial Court of First Instance on 11 September 2024.

The case was adjourned until 30 April 2025 due to the judge's leave of absence.

SADAT's compensation lawsuit against Evrensel adjourned until January 2025

The first hearing in the lawsuit filed against Evrensel newspaper on charge of “violation of personal rights” upon the complaint filed by Adnan Tanrıverdi, the founder of the International Defense Consultancy Company known by the acronym SADAT, was held at the Bakırköy 4th Commercial Court of First Instance on 10 September 2024.

SADAT's lawyer asked for the case to be accepted, while Evrensel's lawyer Devrim Avcı asked for it to be dismissed on the grounds of “statute of limitations.”

The court decided to ask Büyükçekmece 5th Criminal Court of Peace and Istanbul 17th Civil Court of First Instance about the outcome of the writs issued to Evrensel.

The trial was adjourned until 28 January 2025.

SADAT filed the complaint over the article titled “An Event: Allegations on SADAT and a Concept: Paramilitary Organization” published in the 9 June 2021 issue of Genç Hayat, a supplement of the newspaper.

 

Prosecutor demanded sentencing for Can Ataklı

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Can Ataklı on the charge of “inciting the public to hatred and enmity” over his criticism of the statements made by the father of a soldier who lost his life in the clash during the “Operation Claw-Kilit” region was held on 10 September 2024 at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Ataklı did not attend the hearing and his lawyer was present in court.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor demanded Ataklı be sentenced for the impugned crime.

Announcing its interim decision, the court gave the defense time to set up their defense against the prosecutor's opinion, and adjourned the trial until 10 October 2024.

Ercan Aktaş's “terrorism propaganda” trial adjourned until February 2025

The sixth hearing in the trial of journalist Ercan Aktaş on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” was held oat the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 9 September 2024.

No one attended the hearing.

The court ruled to await the execution of the arrest warrant against Aktaş and adjourned the trial until 3 February 2025.

At least 25 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 13 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.

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