Journalist Murat Verim sent to prison after his sentence upheld; access to Medyaradar blocked; lawsuit filed against Furkan Karabay over “insulting Erdoğan family;” prosecutor demands sentencing for KHK TV reporter Ahmet Erkan Yiğitsözlü

Murat Verim sent to prison after his sentence was upheld

Mardin-based journalist Murat Verim was arrested and sent to Midyat Prison after his prison sentence was upheld.

Now-defunct Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Murat Verim, who had worked as Press and Public Relations Manager at Mardin's Dargeçit Municipality until March 2016 was imprisoned pending trial on charges of “aiding a terrorist organization” over his news notes and press releases, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Verim was released on 5 April 2024 after 16 months in prison as part of the case filed at the Midyat High Criminal Court.

Medyaradar news site is once again blocked

Access to Medyaradar.com news site was blocked following a complaint filed by Turkuvaz Media Group, citing the news article titled “Turkuvaz Media Group's Youtube channels were stolen.”

According to a statement released by Medyaradar, following a complaint by Turkuvaz Medya, the relevant news article was removed from the website on June 27 Despite this, access to the website was blocked by a decision of the İstanbul 3rd Criminal Court of Peace. After the appellate court rejected the objection to the access block, the website resumed its website at medyaradar.com instead of www.medyaradar.com. Turkuvaz Medya once again objected to the new address, and the new address was also blocked by the İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 September.

The news site continues to be online at medyaradar.net.

Lawsuit filed against Furkan Karabay over “insulting Erdoğan family”A lawsuit was filed against Gerçek Gündem news site editor Furkan Karabay on charges of “insulting the president,” “insult” and “defamation” over the statements he made on Mirgün Cabas' YouTube broadcast on 19 January 2024.

In the indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on 5 September 2024, in addition to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar and his sons Burak Erdoğan and Ahmet Erdoğan are also included as plaintiffs.

The indictment was accepted by İstanbul 56th Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 September 2024.

The first hearing will be held on 5 February 2025.

Medine Mamedoğlu under investigation for “spreading false information”

Journalist Medine Mamedoğlu was summoned to testify on suspicion of “spreading false information” on 20 June 2024 on the grounds of her news reports and social media posts on the fire that broke out in villages between Mardin's Mazıdağı district and Diyarbakır's Çınar district.

It was stated that the investigation, which was based on news video posts, was initiated upon a denunciation.

Mamedoğlu, who went to Diyarbakır Security Directorate with his lawyer Resul Temur, stated that her posts did not constitute a crime and were within the scope of his journalistic activities.

Fine against Evrensel writer Özcan Yaman upheld

The Court of Cassation upheld the TL 10,000 compensation fine given to Evrensel columnist Özcan Yaman for violating the personal rights of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son Bilal Erdoğan in his article "Fotoğrafçı ile foto muhabiri arasındaki fark" (The difference between a photographer and a photojournalist) published 10 years ago.

Yaman's lawyers will appeal the case to the Constitutional Court.

An investigation was launched against Yaman's article published on 4 April 2014 on suspicion of “insult” and “violating the confidentiality of the investigation.” Although the investigation did not result in a lawsuit, Bilal Erdoğan had filed a lawsuit against Yaman at the İstanbul 2nd Civil Court of First Instance for TL 50,000 for non-pecuniary damages. The court had sentenced Yaman to TL 10,000 in compensation.

Evrensel's İzmir Representative Özer Akdemir wins press card case

The court ruled that the decision of the Press Card Commission was unlawful in the lawsuit filed by Özer Akdemir, İzmir Representative of Evrensel newspaper, regarding the unjustified revocation of his press card. The Ankara 20th Administrative Court ruled that the rejection of Akdemir's request to renew his press card based solely on discretionary authority was unlawful.

Özer Akdemir, who has held a yellow press card since 2013, had been denied the renewal of his press card in 2019. After Dilek Gappi, the President of the Izmir Journalists' Association (IGC), of which Akdemir is a member, and a member of the Press Card Commission, raised this situation in the commission, the renewal application, which had been kept under the name of “review” for four years, was discussed at the meeting on 13 December 2023. Eleven of the 14 commission members voted “no” without making any assessment of the application documents or Akdemir's journalistic activities, and the press card was canceled. Three members of the commission disagreed with this decision and voted that the card should be renewed.

The Ankara 20th Administrative Court, which heard the case, pointed to the definition of “rule of law” in Article 2 of the Constitution and said, “The principles of certainty and legal security, which are a requirement of the rule of law, prevent the administration from acting arbitrarily.”

Ziya Çiçekçi's “propaganda” trial postponed

The 16th hearing in the trial of journalist Ziya Çiçekçi on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court on 20 September 2024.

No one attended the hearing.

The trial was adjourned for a future date.

Çiçekçi is on trial over 13 posts shared on Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper's social media account in 2017.

Prosecutor demands sentencing for KHK TV reporter Ahmet Erkan Yiğitsözlü

The second hearing in the trial of KHK TV reporter Ahmet Erkan Yiğitsözlü on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization” and “violating the Law on Prevention of Financing of Terrorism” was held at the Osmaniye 2nd High Criminal Court on 19 September 2024. It was seen that the court panel changed during the hearing.

Yiğitsözlü and his lawyer Günal Kurşun attended the hearing.

Speaking about Yiğitsözlü's journalistic activities, Kurşun stated that Yiğitsözlü was “not affiliated with a terrorist organization” and acted in accordance with the requirements of journalism. Kurşun said that Yiğitsözlü took videos of everyone who was dismissed without discrimination.

“He acts in accordance with the principles of journalism, he does not care about the political views of the people he interviews. He reports news, he is an incorrigible journalist. He interviews everyone, dismissed or not, he is a reliable person. So far, I have not come across any speech praising the organization.”

Yiğitsözlü emphasized that there was no evidence that he was “in contact and affiliated with the FETÖ/PDY organization” as claimed in the file and said, “The only evidence is that I worked at Cihan News Agency between 2005 and 2007, which is not a crime. In 2019, another investigation was launched and a decision of non-prosecution was issued.”

 

After the witnesses were heard, the prosecutor delivered their final opinion on the case to the court. The prosecutor demanded Yiğitsözlü be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization.” Lawyer Kurşun said, “There is no evidence in the file to support the allegations in the indictment. The prosecutor who prepared the indictment failed to substantiate his allegations. For this reason, we have difficulty in making our defense. We request the prosecutor to explain their evidence regarding the allegations.” Kurşun requested time to make a counter-statement against the prosecutor’s opinion.

The court accepted the request and adjourned the trial until 15 October 2024.

Yiğitsözlü was detained on 15 November 2022 as part of the investigation launched by the Osmaniye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “violating the law on the prevention of financing terrorism,” and was released by the Osmaniye Criminal Judicature of Peace on 17 November 2022.

Compensation case brought by Tuncar Özdamar against Treasury to resume in October

The second hearing in the compensation case brought by WDR Cosmo Turkish Director Tuncay Özdamar against the State Treasury over his detention at Ankara Esenboğa Airport and 14 hours in custody, was held at the İstanbul 15th High Criminal Court on 20 September 2024.

Özdamar did not attend the hearing and her lawyer Emine Özhasar was present. P24 monitored the hearing.

Özdamar's lawyer Emine Özhasar demanded that the missing issues be completed and the lawsuit be accepted.

On 30 November 2023, a decision of non-prosecution was issued in the investigation against Özdamar, who was detained on 30 September 2023 at Ankara Esenboğa Airport on the charge of “marking those who were involved in the fight against terrorism." The court decided to send a writ to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to request the finalization annotation of the non-prosecution decision issued against Özdamar and the documents regarding his arrest and detention.

The trial was adjourned until 18 October 2024.

The trial of journalist Bülent Kılıç adjourned until JanuaryThe third hearing in the trial of former Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, who was beaten and detained by police officers while covering a news, on charges of “resisting public official to prevent the execution of duty” and “publicly insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 19th Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 September 2024.

Kılıç and his lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Journalist Hacı Bişkin, who was heard as a witness at the hearing, said, “Three policemen pressed Bülent on his shoulders and neck to take him into custody. Bülent had a camera in his hand and he also said he was a journalist during the intervention. I was there from the beginning to the end of the incident. I did not witness the allegations that Bülent insulted the police officers or hit them with the camera. I heard Bülent shouting 'I cannot breathe' when the police intervened.”

Kılıç's lawyer Veysel Ok asked for the rejection of the plaintiff police officers' request to join the case as co-plaintiff. Ok said, “It was also stated by the plaintiff police officers that the crime scene report was signed by police officers who did not see the incident. The crime scene report is fake. Therefore, we do not accept their request.”

The court accepted the request of Yalçın Eyyip, one of the complainant police officers, to join the case as co-plaintiff, considering the possibility of being harmed by the crime. The court decided to send the file to the prosecutor’s office to file its final opinion on the case and adjourned the trial until 16 January 2025.

Kılıç was detained while covering the 19th İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March on 26 June 2021 as police officers forced him to the ground and pressed on his throat.

Trial of journalist Barış Pehlivan for “insulting a public official” adjournedThe first hearing in the trial of journalist Barış Pehlivan on the charge of “insulting a public official” upon the complaint of Boğaziçi University Rector Mehmet Naci İnci was held on 19 September 2024 at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

The hearing was monitored by P24 and the lawyers of the parties were present. Pehlivan did not attend the hearing.

Lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner stated that his client Barış Pehlivan will be present at the next hearing. The lawyer of the plaintiff Naci İnci stated that they had nothing to say at this stage.

The court gave Pehlivan's lawyer time to prepare his client for the next hearing and adjourned the trial until 4 February 2024.

Pehlivan is on trial due to the complaint filed by Boğaziçi University Rector Naci İnci over his article titled “Sen misin mahrem bilgilere sahip çıkan!” published in Cumhuriyet on 11 January 2024.

Trial of Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım and Yıldız Tar adjourned until January 2025

The third hearing in the trial of journalists Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım and Yıldız Tar on charges of “participating in unlawful meetings and marches and not dispersing spontaneously despite a warning” was held at the Ankara 71st Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 September 2024.

Sibel Yükler and Yıldız Tar and their lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Regarding the expert report, Yükler said, “The expert report does not fully reflect the violence we saw at the time of the incident.”

Taking the floor after Yükler, Tar said, “I do not accept the points against me in the expert report. In the images photographed in the report, I am the person being held and pressed to the ground.”

Gulan Çağın Kaleli, one of the journalists' lawyers, said, “The expert report states that there are 12 video files, but only two videos were photographed in the report.”

The court decided to exclude Sibel Yükler, Yıldız Tar and Deniz Nazlım from the hearings and adjourned the trial until 7 January 2025.

Final hearing in trial of journalists Kürşat Yılmaz and Görkem Kınacı to be held in JanuaryThe sixth hearing in the trial of Evrensel newspaper's Publisher Kürşat Yılmaz and Managing Editor Görkem Kınacı on charges of “defamation” and “insult” upon the complaint of Serhat Albayrak, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkuvaz Media Group, was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 September 2024.

The hearing was monitored by P24 and the lawyers of the parties were present. Yılmaz and Kınacı did not attend the hearing.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented at the hearing on 16 January 2024, and asked for Yılmaz and Kınacı to be sentenced.

The lawyer of the defendant Serhat Albayrak said, “They made unfounded statements about our client over social media posts of unknown origin. The elements of the offenses of 'insult' and defamation have occurred. We demand that both defendants be sentenced to the maximum penalty in terms of the charges attributed to them.”

Yılmaz and Kınacı's lawyer Devrim Avcı stated that the news articles in the case were within the boundaries of freedom of thought and expression and that the elements of the crime have not formed, and demanded acquittal.

The court adjourned the trial until 21 January 2025 to review the file for a decision.

Yılmaz and Kınacı are on trial for the news articles titled “Borsadaki rüşvet ağı Saray’a kadar uzandı” (The bribery network in the stock exchange extended to the Palace) with the headline “Derin Sessizlik” (Deep Silence) dated 29 August 2022, and “Saray’a dayanan Peker ifşaları ‘cesur savcı’ ile temizlenemez” (Peker revelations that reached the Palace cannot be cleaned with a “brave prosecutor”) dated 31 August 2022.

Documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin's trial adjourned until November

The third hearing in the trial of documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” and “violation of freedom of work and employment” for covering a protest at NTV Ankara Representative Office was held at the Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court on 19 September 2024.

Since the witness who requested to be heard based on the expert report could not attend the hearing, the case was adjourned until 7 November 2024.

Journalist Muhammet Enes Sezgin's “simple injury” trial adjourned until January 2025

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Muhammet Enes Sezgin on the charge of “simple injury” was held at the İstanbul 63rd Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 September 2024.

Sezgin and his lawyer Sercan Korkmaz were present at the hearing.

The trial was adjourned until 16 January 2025.

On 31 July 2021, Sendika.org reporters Derya Saadet and Ceylan Bulut, Özgür Gelecek reporter Taylan Öztaş, Mezopotamya news agency reporters Enes Sezgin and Rojin Altay and Gazete Fersude editor Hayri Tunç were violently attacked by a group of angry mob in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa district as they were covering a protest against the murder of seven members of a Kurdish family in Konya province on 30 July.

Öztaş and Sezgin, who had been injured during the attack, were taken into custody by the police at the hospital later that night. Both journalists had spent the night in police custody. They had been released by the court they were referred to the next day after a public prosecutor had sought their imprisonment pending trial for “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations” and “terrorism propaganda.”

Abdullah Kaya's trial adjourned until February 2025The first hearing in the trial of Abdullah Kaya, a journalist in Ağrı, on the charge of “unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data” was held at Diyadin Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 September 2024.

In his defense statement at the hearing, Kaya said, “I am doing my duty within the scope of freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The village guard here may not realize it, but we journalists do this kind of reporting for the good of public. Freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Turkish Constitution. I reported news in line with professional principles.”At the end of the hearing, the court announced its interim decision and ruled to postpone the trial until February 21, 2025.

Click here for detailed report.

Case brought by Mayor Geylani’s bodyguards against Sinan Aygül begins

The first hearing in the trial of Bitlis Journalists' Association President Sinan Aygül on the charge of “insult” upon the complaint of two bodyguards, one of whom is a police officer, of former AKP mayor of Tatvan Mehmet Emin Geylani was held on 18 September 2024 at the Tatvan 1st Criminal Court of First Instance.

Sinan Aygül, his brother Ahmet Aygül, the other defendant on charges of “insult” and “threat,” his lawyer Berrin Eker and the plaintiff bodyguard Yücel Baysalı were present in the courtroom. Engin Kaplan, a police officer, attended the hearing from Ankara Courthouse via the judicial videoconferencing system (SEGBİS).

After the defense statements, the court decided to reject Sinan Aygül's request to hear the deputy mayor of the municipality and the zoning director as witnesses on the grounds that they are not relevant to the case and adjourned the trial until 12 December 2024.

The retrial of Murat Şevki Çoban will resume in November

The first hearing in the retrial of Murat Şevki Çoban, responsible managing editor of the shut-down Taraf newspaper, and another defendant on the charge of “violating personal rights through the press” was held at the Tatvan 3rd Civil Court of First Instance on 18 September 2024. The trial was adjourned until 13 November 2024.

Çoban, who is represented by P24, has been on trial on the charge of “violating personal rights” over the news article titled “Ot yolmayınca dinsiz oldu” (He became a heathen when he did not pluck weeds) published on 6 June 2012 in the shut-down Taraf newspaper, along with the author of the report, Sümeyra Tansel. The first hearing in the trial was held on 9 July 2013, and the case was overturned by a decision of the 4th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 8 March 2016, following which the file was sent back to the court. At the end of the final hearing in retrial held at the Tatvan 1st Civil Court of First Instance on 13 September 2017, Çoban was sentenced to a fine of TL 10,000. In its decision dated 18 September 2023, the 4th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, which re-examined the case upon objection to the verdict, stated that the trial court's verdict of conviction regarding Çoban must be overturned on account of the fact that he was not the responsible managing editor of the newspaper at the time when the article was published. 

Writer Yavuz Ekinci appears before judge

The first hearing in the trial of writer Yavuz Ekinci on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” over the statements in his novel “Rüyası Bölünenler” published in 2014 was held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 18 September 2024.

Ekinci and his lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Following the identification, Ekinci made his defense and denied the accusation of “terrorism propaganda.” Ekinci said the following: “As a writer, I am extremely saddened on behalf of the rule of law to be accused in this way because of a novel, a fictional text I have written. The 7th Criminal Judicature of Peace issued a recall and ban on my book published in 2014 after a 'patriotic' citizen reported it to CIMER. A novel is a work of fiction. I believe that narratives told through the eyes of fictionalized characters do not constitute a crime. I do not accept the accusation against me. I request the court to consider my novel Rüyası Bölünenler that was published 10 years ago within the scope of freedom of thought and expression, and to acquit me.”

Yavuz Ekinci's lawyer Can Ekinci reminded that the book in question was published in 2014 and demanded that the case be dropped due to the statute of limitations in accordance with the Press Law: “The book was published in 2014, but the indictment sets the date of the crime as the date of the notification to CIMER (8 February 2023). Legally, the date of the notification cannot be accepted as the date of the crime. The date of the crime is 2014, the date the book was first published. Printed novels are also subject to the Press Law. As 10 years have passed since the book was first published, there is a statute of limitations under the Press Law. Therefore, we request the court to dismiss the case.”

Çiğdem Koç, one of Yavuz Ekinci's lawyers, stated that the elements of the crime attributed to his client have not formed and demanded an immediate acquittal.

The court decided to send a letter to the police to investigate the date of publication of Ekinci's book “Rüyası Bölünenler” and to send the file to the prosecutor's office to prepare its final opinion on the case.

The trial was adjourned until 9 December 2024.

Lawsuit filed by Sibel Yükler against the Treasury adjournedThe second hearing of the lawsuit filed by journalist Sibel Yükler against the State Treasury on the grounds that she was unjustly detained, her freedom was restricted by a judicial control order, and her computer and phone were confiscated was held on 17 September 2024 at the Ankara 24th High Criminal Court.

The case was adjourned for the missing elements in the file to be completed.

File seperated in the case of Pınar Gayıp and Semiha ŞahinThe second hearing in the retrial of four people, including Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and its reporter Pınar Gayıp, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held on 16 September 2024 at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court.

The defendants did not attend the hearing, but lawyers were present.

The court pointed out that there is another case against Şahin at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court on the allegation of “terrorism propaganda” and separated Şahin's file. Şahin's file will be merged with the other caseThe court also merged another case file filed against Gayıp on the allegation of “terrorism propaganda” with the ongoing trial.

The prosecutor and lawyers demanded that the missing issues in the file be resolved.

The court ruled that there are ongoing investigations against Gayıp and that the missing documents related to these investigations should be completed.

The trial was adjourned until 4 December 2024.

At least 26 journalists and media workers in prison

Following the imprisonment of journalist Murat Verim, as of 20 September 2024, there are at least 26 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.