Six journalists acquitted in five cases; investigation against Fatih Altaylı and İsmail Saymaz for “disinformation”; Court of Cassation upholds imprisonment sentence for journalist Özgür Paksoy; investigation against Evren Demirdaş for “disinformation”

Investigation against Fatih Altaylı and İsmail Saymaz for “spreading false information”

An investigation has been launched against journalists Fatih Altaylı and İsmail Saymaz on suspicion of “spreading false information.”

The investigation launched by the Press Crimes Investigation Office of the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office cited the article titled “Enkazdan korkmayan mahpustan korkmaz” (If they’re not afraid of rubble, they won’t be afraid of jail) by Altaylı and the claim voiced by İsmail Saymaz that “President Erdoğan had Bahçeli watch some videos concerning some Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) MPs.”

Investigation against Evren Demirdaş upon complaint by Governor’s Office of Elazığ

An investigation has been launched against Sözcü newspaper reporter Evren Demirdaş upon complaints by the Governor’s Office of Elazığ and the Provincial Special Administration.

The criminal complaint, which claimed that the news item constituted an “attack on the standing” of the Governor’s Office and the Special Administration also argued that the news item did not “comply with the principles of journalism.” Demirdaş was also accused of “provoking the people” in the criminal complaint.

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Court of Cassation upholds imprisonment sentence for journalist Özgür Paksoy

The Court of Cassation upheld the imprisonment sentence handed to journalist Özgür Paksoy at the end of the trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda,” which began on 4 January 2016 with un unanimous decision finding “no unlawfulness” in the Court of Cassation ruling of 11 June 2024.

The prosecution had requested sentencing for Paksoy for sharing 16 news item he prepared in 2014 over his social media accounts. Posts on social media accounts, which did not belong to Paksoy, were also included in the case file. On 15 February 2019, the Şırnak 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced Paksoy to 3 years 1 month and 15 days of imprisonment over his news posts.

Paksoy’s lawyer took the first instance court decision to appellate court and the 3rd Penal Chamber of Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice had rejected the appeal on merits. Paksoy’s lawyer then brought the case before the Court of Cassation.

Gökhan Özbek detained

Journalist Gökhan Özbek, who runs the social media account “23 Derece,” announced on social media on 21 November 2024 that he had been detained.

 

There has not yet been any explanation about Özbek’s detention.

 

Journalist Faruk Eren acquitted

The fourth hearing in the retrial of journalist Faruk Eren on grounds of “not duly publishing a revocation and response” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 November 2024.

 

Lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to acquit Eren as per the violations judgment of Constitutional Court regarding the deferment of the sentence.

 

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Journalist Ahmet Sever acquitted in retrial

The fourth hearing in the retrial of journalist Ahmet Sever on the charge of “insult” over a complaint filed by former Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 November 2024.

 

Lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to rescind the previous verdict and abolish all its consequences as per the Constitutional Court ruling of 29 March 2023 and ruled to acquit Sever due to the elements of the obtained crime not having formed in the incident subject to the retrial.

 

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Case against journalists İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan dismissed in retrial

The fourth hearing in the retrial of the Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan, who acted as the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief for a day in a solidarity campaign on the charge of “insulting the president” over a news item was held at the İstanbul 2nd Penal Court of First Instance on 22 November 2024. Özgür Gündem was shut down by statutory decree.

 

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

 

The court ruled to dismiss the case against journalists İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan on the grounds that the deferment of the sentence probatory period that had begun with the previous sentence had expired.

 

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Journalist Osman Akın acquitted in retrial

The fourth hearing in the retrial of Yeni Yaşam newspaper Managing Editor Osman Akın on the charge of “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey and the military and security organization of the state” over his article titled “Afrinli Tutuklulara Zulüm” (Detainees in Afrin Maltreated) was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 November 2024.

 

Akın’s lawyer Özcan Kılıç was present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The court ruled to rescind the previous verdict and abolish all its consequences as per the Constitutional Court violation ruling of 29 March 2023, and acquitted Akın on the grounds that the elements of the obtained crime did not form in the incident subject to the retrial.

 

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Outcome of Abdullah Kaya’s case with the Court of Cassation to be awaited in trial

 

The fifth hearing in the trial of the shut-down Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Abdullah Kaya on charges of “terrorism propaganda” and “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Ağrı 2nd High Criminal Court on 21 November 2024.

 

While Kaya, who is free pending trial, attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system, his lawyer Muhammed Ünsal was present at the courtroom.

 

Kaya stated that the actions and social media posts subject to the charges came under journalistic activities and requested his acquittal.

 

Following Kaya’s defense statement, the panel of judges ruled to await the outcome of Kaya’s case with the Court of Cassation and adjourned the trial until 30 January 2025.

 

Barış Pehlivan and Ozan Alper Yurtoğlu’s trial adjourned until January 2025

The ninth hearing in the trial of Cumhuriyet newspaper contributor Barış Pehlivan and former Managing Editor Ozan Alper Yurtoğlu on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 15th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 November 2024.

 

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

 

The court ruled to issue another writ to the plaintiff Tekman Savaş Nemli, who serves in the 7th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, to inform of the hearing date. The trial was adjourned until 16 January 2025.

 

Ten people, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Süleyman Soylu, Egemen Bağış and Binali Yıldım are listed as victims in the case against the journalists, filed over the article “Sabıka Holding” (Criminal Record Holding) published in the 13 October 2921 issue of Cumhuriyet.

 

Trial of journalist Metin Cihan for “insult” adjourned

The ninth hearing in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan on the charge of “insulting a public official” over a complaint filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak was held at the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 November 2024.

 

Lawyers for the parties present submitted excuses not to attend the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The hearing was held summarily, and the trial was adjourned until 11 March 2025.

 

Barış Terkoğlu and Ahmet Zeki Üçok’s trial adjourned until May 2025

The fourth hearing in the trial of journalist Barış Terkoğlu, along with former İYİ Party deputy chair Ahmet Zeki Üçok on the charge of “repeatedly insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 November 2024. The charge was filed over Terkoğlu’s articles “Hayırlı FETÖ’cüler nasıl kurtarılıyor” (How are favored FETO members saved) and “Savcı bey geliyorum, bu yazıyı da ekleyin," (Mr. Prosecutor, I am on my way, add this article too) which were published in the Cumhuriyet newspaper in April 2023.

 

Terkoğlu, Üçok and their lawyer were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

 

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented at the hearing on 22 February 2024 and requested sentencing for Terkoğlu and Üçok for the impugned crime.

 

The articles subject to the charge had cited claims by prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü, who had presented a petition to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) for having come under pressure to close some cases while he was serving at the İstanbul Courthouse. Terkoğlu’s lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner said that the expressions his client had used in the article were based on the defense petition, which prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü had presented to the HSK inspector and requested and extension of inquiry, stating: “I have obtained the petition filed with the HSK, which we had requested at previous hearings. We request that the original of this petition be obtained from the HSK and added to the case file.”

 

Defendant Ahmet Zeki Üçok said that the elements in the news items subject to the trial were not his own expressions, and stated, “We had requested that the petition by prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü be added to the case file. We obtained a copy of the petition ourselves, but it is not a signed copy. I request that the original is obtained from the HSK and added to the case file.”

 

The court accepted the requests for extension of inquiry and ruled to issue a writ to the HSK and the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office to inquire whether there are ongoing or concluded administrative or judicial investigations against the people or event named in the news items subject to the indictment. The trial was adjourned until 8 May 2025.

 

 

 

Action for damages against journalist Furkan Karabay adjourned

The fifth hearing in the action for non-pecuniary damages worth TL 150,000 filed by Antalya Deputy Chief Prosecutor Yakup Ali Kahveci against journalist Furkan Karabay was held at the İstanbul 12th Civil Court of First Instance on 20 November 2024.

 

The hearing, which lawyers for the parties presented excuses not to attend, was held summarily.

 

Karabay had been tried and convicted by the İstanbul 30th Criminal Court of First Instance upon a criminal complaint by Kahveci.

 

The court ruled to await the finalization of the İstanbul 30th Criminal Court of First Instance’s verdict on Karabay. The action was adjourned until 16 April 2025.

 

 

Trial of 20 journalists on “membership in a terrorist organization” charges adjourned

 

The fifth hearing in the trial of journalists in Diyarbakır on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 19 November 2024. The journalists had been detained over their journalistic activities in raids on their homes and places of work and released after more than a year in remand.

The number of defendants in the case rose to 20 with the merging of cases at the previous hearing.

Journalists Ömer Çelik, Mehmet Şahin and Elif Ügür and defendants’ lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored. Dicle Fırat Journalists Association Co-chair Selman Çiçek and an observer from the Clooney Foundation of Justice were also present at the hearing.

The court ordered for a writ to be issued to the Counter-Terrorism Branch Directorate of the Provincial Directorate of Security for the return of confiscated digital materials and the inclusion of all search orders and findings reports to the case file. The court ruled to keep in place the judicial control measures and adjourned the trial until 15 May 2025.

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Baransel Ağca’s trial adjourned until March 2025

The seventh hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca on the charge of “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal information” over publishing the autopsy report for journalism student Yeldana Kahraman was held at the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance.

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Ağca’s detention to obtain a statement and to inquire about the outcome of the order and adjourned the trial until 13 March 2025.

Trial of journalist Hayko Bağdat on charge of “terrorism propaganda” adjourned

The 15th hearing in the trial of journalist Hayko Bağdat on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” over his social media posts was held at the İstanbul 28th High Criminal Court on 19 November 2024.

 

At the hearing, which Bağdat’s lawyers presented excuses not to attend, the court ruled to keep in place the order for Bağdat’s detention and adjourned the trial until 4 March 2025.

 

Journalist Furkan Karabay acquitted

The third hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay on charges of “insult” and “defamation” upon a complaint filed by President Revep Tayyip Erdoğan’s former lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal was held at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 19 November 2024.

 

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

 

The court ruled that the Karabay’s expressions constituted severe criticism and vulgarity, the targets of which were unclear at times and therefore ruled to acquit Karabay.

 

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At least 27 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 22 November 2024, there are 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.