Furkan Karabay imprisoned; RTÜK fines criticism of “trustees;” Dinçer Gökçe and Nilay Can detained over reporting on “Newborn gang;” Ali Duran Topuz and Sibel Tekin acquitted; journalists covering trustee protests detained

Furkan Karabay imprisoned pending trial

Journalist Furkan Karabay was detained at his home early on 8 November 2024.

Karabay, who had been detained over his news reports and posts on the investigation against İstanbul's Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer, who was replaced by a trustee, was imprisoned pending trial on the charge of “marking those assigned in the fight against terrorism as target” on 9 November.

Journalists Dinçer Gökçe and Nilay Can detained over their reporting on “Newborn gang”

Lawyer İrem Çiçek, halktv.com.tr Managing Editor Dinçer Gökçe and gazetepencere.com Managing Editor Nilay Can were detained on 3 November 2024 as part of an investigation launched into the news item on “the prosecutor who brought in the Yenidoğan çetesi (Newborn gang) forced to leave office.”

It was reported that 23 news websites and 13 social media accounts were examined as part of the investigation. Çiçek, Gökçe and Can were transferred to the Bakırköy Courthouse after processing at the police station. Çiçek, Gökçe and Can gave a statement to the prosecutor running the investigation and were subsequently transferred to the office of the judge on duty.

The Bakırköy Criminal Court of Peace released suspect lawyer İrem Çiçek under the judicial control measure of house arrest. The court also released journalists Dinçer Gökçe and Nilay Can under judicial control measures.

The Bakırköy Chief Prosecutor’ Office, which launched an ex officio investigation, had stated that the posts in question aimed to harm society’s trust in justice, denigrate the judiciary and other state institutions by means of the press and publications and that the news item and the posts constituted the crimes of “spreading false information,” “insulting a public official” and “defamation.”

Journalists covering trustee protests detained

As demonstrations against the appointment of a public trustee to Batman Municipality continued, police have used water cannons and rubber bullets against demonstrators. In the police break up on 5 November, many people, including JinNews reporter Pelşin Çetinkaya and Yeni Yaşam newspaper employee were battered and detained.

Detainees were released after giving a statement at the police station.

On the other hand, premises of the Batman Sonsöz newspaper across the road from the municipality building was raidedby the police as employees were following developments.

Police teams tried to prevent journalists from obtaining images and detained reporter Serhat Aslan. Aslan was later released.

RTÜK issues 72-hour deadline to Karar and Sputnik Türkiye for licensing procedures

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued a 72-hour deadline to the Karar newspaper (karar.com) and Sputnik Türkiye (anlatilaninotesi.com.tr), which were identified to have been providing broadcasting services without a license, to either pay the licensing fee or end their broadcasting services.

As per the RTÜK decision dated 5 November 2024, access to these two domain names will be denied unless the necessary license is obtained within 72 hours or broadcasting services are halted.

RTÜK fines criticism of “trustees”

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has issued fines to television networks which broadcasted criticism of the appointment of trustees to the municipalities of Esenyurt, Mardin, Batman and Halfeti. Fines were also issued over broadcasting statements by Mardin Muncipality Co-Mayor Ahmet Türk, who was made to leave office, and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın.

Halk TV, NOW TV and Tele 1, which featured programming critical of the appointment of trustees to municipalities and comments made by CHP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın were ordered to pay administrative fines worth 3 percent of monthly communication income.

RTÜK also fined Akit TV, Beyaz TV, tv100, Kanal 3, Meltem TV, NTV, Show TV, Tele1, CNN Türk, TGRT Haber, SZC, Halk TV and Flash Haber the maximum administrative fine following the armed attack on TUSAŞ. ATV and A Haber were not fined over their broadcasting after the TUSAŞ attack.

Reporting by four journalists in İzmir subject to court case

Mezopotamya Agency (MA) İzmir Office Head Semra Turan, reporters Delal Akyüz and Tolga Güney, JinNews reporter Melike Aydın, Gazete Duvar reporter Cihan Başakçıoğlu and Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) press officer Fatma Funda Akbulut were detained in house raids on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” in İzmir on 13 February 2024.

The journalists appeared before the Criminal Court of Peace on 16 February. Aydın, Güney, Akyüz and Akbulut were placed in house arrest, while Başakçıoğlu and Turan were placed under an obligation to sign their name twice a week. Eight months after the investigation began, the prosecutor’s office decided not to prosecute Cihan Başakçıoğlu.

The indictment against DEM Party press officer Funda Akbulut, which charges her with “membership in a terrorist organization,” was filed with the İzmir 18th High Criminal Court. The court rejected the case containing the charge of “providing financing for a terrorist organization” and conveyed it to the İzmir 2nd High Criminal Court. The indictment filed with the İzmir 18th High Criminal court is being examined. The first hearing in the trials on separate indictments is to be held at the İzmir 13th High Criminal Court on 10 February 2025.

Meanwhile, the indictment against Delal Akyüz, who has been in house arrest since February 2024 was recently filed after nine months. The indictment listed news items prepared by Akyüz, the publication policy of the agency she works for, phone conversations with news sources and news archive as evidence of the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.”

The indictment was accepted by the İzmir 13th High Criminal Court and the date for the first hearing was set as 12 February 2025.

Click here for details of the article.

Copies of Yeni Yaşam newspaper confiscated

A new order was issued for the confiscation of the copes of the Yeni Yaşam newspaper.

The first decision to confiscate issues in October was issued by the Tunceli Criminal Court of Peace on 1 October on grounds of “terrorism propaganda.” It was followed by the İstanbul 1st Criminal Court of Peace, which issued an order for the confiscation of the 7 October edition. On 11 October, the Batman 2nd Criminal Court of Peace ordered the confiscation of the day’s issue on grounds of “containing articles praising a terrorist organization” and “a review of the entire of content of the newspaper indicating the crime of terrorism propaganda.” Finally, the 13 and 14 October issues of Yeni Yaşam were pulled off the shelves by the İstanbul 9th Criminal Court of Peace over the same grounds.

The newspaper has been ordered off the shelves six times in the last month. Access block and confiscation orders were also issued for articles and news items concerning PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, such as the headline “Kürt’ün hayali Öcalan’a kavuşmak" (Kurds dream of reunion with Öcalan) and contributor Fırat Can’s article titled “3. Dünya Savaşı, Ortadoğu’da kaos ve çıkış yolu” (“World War III, Chaos in the Middle East and the Way Out”).

The Büyükçekmece Criminal Court of Peace on duty issued an order for the confiscation of the 4 November edition of Yeni Yaşam on grounds of publishing a photograph of Abdullah Öcalan.

Click here for details of the article.

Bülent Kılıç charged with “insult” upon complaint by Hanifi Zengin

Photojournalist Bülent Kılıç became aware of a case brought against him on the charge of “insulting a public official” when he was detained on 29 October 2024. The case was filed upon a complaint by Hanifi Zengin, former Director of Security at the İstanbul Directorate of Security.

According to the indictment filed by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Zengin claimed that some people had fallen to the ground during the stampede at the Pride March 2021 and that a person, who he later learned was called Bülent Kılıç, had insulted the police, calling them “animals.” Zengin claimed that when warned to use proper language, Kılıç had told him “you are being an animal,” upon which Zengin filed his complaint.

The İstanbul 67th Criminal Court of First Instance, which accepted the indictment, ordered an order for the detention of Kılıç to obtain a statement. Kılıç only learned about the order for his detention when he was detained at İstanbul Airport on 29 October 2024. Kılıç, who was later released, went to the İstanbul 67th Criminal Court of First Instance on 1 November 2024 to provide a statement.

The court lifted the order for Kılıç’s detention and set the date for the hearing as 9 December 2024.

Sedef Kabaş’s trial adjourned until February 2025

The fifth hearing in the trial of journalist Sedef Kabaş on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024.

The trial was adjourned until 25 February 2025 to await the rulings in ongoings cases against Sedef Kabaş with the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance and the Anadolu 7th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Ali Duran Topuz acquitted

The fourth hearing in the trial of Artı Gerçek Editor-in-Chief Ali Duran Topuz on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 7 November 2024. Topuz was on trial for publishing a news item concerning the reassignments of the prosecutor who ran the investigation against 18 journalists in Diyarbakır, and the criminal judge of peace who ordered the arrest of the journalists.

While Ali Duran Topuz did not attend the hearing, his lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar was present. P24 monitored the hearing.

The prosecutor, who had requested time to file their final opinion on the case at the previous hearing, called for Topuz’s acquittal.

The court agreed with the opinion of the prosecution and ruled to acquit Topuz as the “impugned action was not identified as a crime in the law.”

Click here for details of the article.

Sibel Tekin acquitted

The fourth hearing in the trial of documentary filmmaker and journalist Sibel Tekin on charges of “terrorism propaganda” and “violation of the right to work and employment” over covering a protest at the NTV office in Ankara was held at the Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court on 7 November 2024.

Tekin and her lawyer Mehtap Sakinci attended the hearing, which P24 monitored. A witness attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system.

The witness spoke first at the hearing, following identification and said, “I know Sibel Tekin, she is a journalist. I did not see her at the NTV premises.”

The prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case and said that the images did not unequivocally establish whether Tekin had entered the NTV premises. The prosecutor stated that as the witness had said Tekin was not in the NTV premises, there was no unequivocal and credible evidence and requested Tekin’s acquittal.

The court ruled to acquit Tekin over the lack of adequate evidence to support the charges.

Click here for details of the article.

Prosecution requests sentencing for İnan Kızılkaya

The 24th hearing in the trial of journalists Can Dündar and İnan Kızılkaya on the charge of “insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024.

At the hearing, which neither the defendants nor lawyer for the parties attended, the prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case and requested the court to separate the case file for Can Dündar, who is under a detention order to obtain his statement under the current trial. The prosecutor requested sentencing for İnan Kızılkaya, whose questioning has been completed, for the crime of “insulting a public official.”

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Dündar’s detention and adjourned the trial until 12 December 2024 for the defenses against their final opinion on the case to be prepared.

The news item titled “Saray rejiminin en kullanışlı hakimi” (The most useful judge of the Palace regime), which appeared in the 22 June 2016 edition of the Özgür Gündem newspaper, when Dündar was acting as the editor-in-chief on watch, is cited as evidence of the charge against Dündar and Kızılkaya in the indictment. The indictment was filed by prosecutor Murat İnam upon a complaint filed by then İstanbul 1st Criminal Judge of Peace Bekir Altun.

Journalists Aziz Oruç and Ersin Çaksu’s trial adjourned

The 13th hearing in the trial of journalists Aziz Oruç and Ersin Çaksu on the charge of “publicly denigrating 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 their news items and columns was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024.

No parties attended the hearing. The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Çaksu’s detention. The trial was adjourned until 24 April 2024.

The indictment cites the news items and columns by the journalists, which appeared in the Özgürlükçü Demokrasinewspaper between 21 October – 1 November 2016. Özgürlükçü Demokrasi was later shut down by statutory decree.

Demokratik Modernite magazine trial adjourned until April 2025

The sixth hearing in the trial of Demokratik Modernite magazine Managing Editor Ramazan Yurttapan and editor Haydar Ergül on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024.

The hearing, which no parties attended, was held summarily and the trial was adjourned until 24 April 2024 for the missing elements in the case file to be completed.

Danish journalist Mads Anneberg's trial adjourned until March 2025

The 11th hearing in the trial of Danish journalist Mads Anneberg of the charge of “entering forbidden military zones” was held at the Edirne 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024. Anneberg had been detained on 3 March 2020 while observing the movement of refugees along the border.

No parties attended the hearing.

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Anneberg’s detention and adjourned the trial until 6 March 2025.

Journalist Baransel Ağca’s trial adjourned

The eighth hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 7 November 2024.

No parties attended the hearing. The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Ağca’s detention. The court further ruled to begin letter rogatory procedures to obtain defense statements from Ağca and adjourned the trial until 24 April 2025.

Sinan Aygül’s 14-year long trial adjourned once more

The retrial of journalist Sinan Aygül on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” in what is known as the “Bitlis KCK” case continued with the hearing held at the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court on 5 November 2024.

With no defendants or lawyers present, the hearing was held summarily. P24 monitored the hearing.

The court adjourned the trial until 4 March 2025.

Click here to read details of the article.

Prosecutor requests sentencing for İlyas Salman on charge of “insulting the president”

The fifth hearing in the trial of actor İlyas Salman on the charge of “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2ndCriminal Court of First Instance on 5 November 2022. Salman is on trial over his statement “I do not see Erdoğan as fit for that position” in an interview with the BirGün newspaper, which was published in the 1 August 2022 edition.

Lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Salman did not attend the hearing.

President Erdoğan’s lawyer said they upheld their complaint. Salman’s lawyer Selen Sınmaz said that the crime of “insulting the president” had been rendered null by the Vedat Şorli judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and requested the immediate acquittal of her client.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor requested sentencing for Salman for the impugned crime. President Erdoğan’s lawyer requested the court to rule in line with the opinion.

Salman’s lawyer Sınmaz requested time to prepare a counter-statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion on the case.

The court accepted the request for time and adjourned the trial until 22 April 2025.

Delal Akyüz’s retrial adjourned until December 2024

The third hearing in the retrial of Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Delal Akyüz on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization” was held at the İzmir 20th High Criminal Court on 5 November 2024.

While Akyüz attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system, her lawyer Halil Coşkun was present in the courtroom.

Akyüz requested an exemption from attending the hearings.

The court accepted the request. The court ruled to keep in place the ban on Akyüz travelling abroad and adjourned the trial until 17 December 2024.

At least 27 journalists and media workers in prison

Following Furkan Karabay being imprisoned pending trial, as of 9 November 2024, there are now at least 27 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.