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 - 484

Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey - 484

CHP's Cevdat Akay criticizes Cyber Security bill as it would “limit freedom of expression;” three journalists acquitted in three cases; prosecutor demands sentencing for Barış Pehlivan and Ozan Alper Yurtoğlu; arrest warrant issued for Burak Akbay, owner of Sözcü newspaper

CHP's Cevdat Akay criticizes Cyber Security bill as it would “limit freedom of expression”

CHP MP for Karabük Cevdet Akay has criticized the Cyber Security Law Proposal submitted by the AKP to the Parliament on January 10 on the grounds that it would “limit freedom of expression.”

Akay said, “The Cyber Security Law imposes a major restriction on freedom of expression and wants to swing the new regulation like the sword of Damocles over freedom of expression. Whatever they call 'vitally important' is followed by usurpation of rights, and we see that the rights of our citizens are usurped between the lines of this regulation.”

Stating that the press was tried to be imprisoned with the “Spreading False Information” regulation in the censorship law, Akay said, “But we see that this regulation was not enough for the government. Now they are after hiding the data that they cannot protect. With the proposed regulation, it will now be a crime to explain that the data that the stolen has fallen into the hands of others.”

According to the critics, the phrases used in the bill, such as “creating perception” and “data breach,” do not provide clarity on which actions are punishable. This could lead to the suppression of journalists and social media users who produce critical content.

Investigation launched into news reports on Akın Gürlek

İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into the news items reporting that “Akın Gürlek [ who is an İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor] came to the courthouse during Rıza Akpolat's prosecution process and tried to influence the judges in charge of the investigation.”

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office made a statement regarding the news in question, denying the allegations and announced that an investigation was launched ex officio on the charge of “spreading false information.”

Rıza Akpolat, the CHP Mayor of İstanbul's Beşiktaş district, who was among 40 people detained as part of an investigation launched against a criminal organization that allegedly manipulated tender processes by bribing mayors, was imprisoned pending trial on 17 January.

PİRHA reporter Fatoş Sarıkaya battered by police officers

PİRHA reporter Fatoş Sarıkaya was battered by police officers while covering a protest organized after the imprisonment of Mersin's Akdeniz district Co-Mayors Hoşyar Sarıyıldız and Nuriye Arslan as well as municipal council members Özgür Çağlar, Neslihan Oruç and Hikmet Bakırhan, and the appointment of a trustee to the municipality.

On 14 January, Sarıkaya, who was taking footage of children detained during the police intervention to the protest, was battered by the police and prevented from taking footage.

The police also took the press card of Sarıkaya, who stated that she was a journalist, and threw it on the ground.

Journalist Bülent Kılıç acquitted

The fourth hearing in the trial of former Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, who was battered and detained by police officers while covering the Pride March, on charges of “resisting to prevent the fulfillment of duty” and “publicly insulting a public official” was held at the İstanbul 19th Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 January 2025.

Kılıç's lawyer Hazal Sümeli was present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor demanded Kılıç's acquittal of the charges pressed against him. Kılıç's lawyer Sümeli stated that they agreed with the final opinion and reiterated their demand for acquittal.

The court acquitted Kılıç of both charges on the grounds that the elements of the crime did not form.

Kılıç was detained by the police on 26 June 2021 while he was covering the 19th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride March.

Özgür Gündem trial adjourned

The 28th hearing in the trial of Hüseyin Aykol, Zana Kaya, Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya and Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle, former Editors-in-Chief of now-defunct Özgür Gündem newspaper on charges 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” and “publicly denigrating the military or security organization of the State” over news articles published in the newspaper in 2016 was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 January 2025.

Aykol, Kaya, Kızılkaya and Dicle's lawyer Özcan Kılıç were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Lawyer Kılıç repeated their previous defense and demanded the completion of the missing elements in the file.

The court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued against Hatip Dicle and adjourned the trial until 13 March 2025.

Trial of employees and writers of Demokratik Modernite magazine was adjourned until July

The sixth hearing in the trial of Demokratik Modernite magazine Responsible Managing Editor Ramazan Yurttapan, editor Haydar Ergül as well as contributors Cihan Doğan, Musa Şanak and Nazan Üstündağ on charges of “denigrating the Turkish Nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, the institutions and organs of the state” was at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance held on 16 January 2025.

The defendants did not attend the hearing while their lawyer Özcan Kılıç was present.

The court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Cihan Doğan. The trial was adjourned until 1 July 2025.

The indictment cites statements made in eight articles in the 37th issue of the magazine as evidence against Yurttapan, Ergül and the contributors.

Arrest warrant issued for Burak Akbay, owner of Sözcü newspaper

The trial of nine people, including Burak Akbay, the owner of Sözcü newspaper and SZC television channel, along with columnists Emin Çölaşan, Necati Doğru and former editor-in-chief Metin Yılmaz, on charges of “aiding a terrorist organization”  was held at the İstanbul 37th High Criminal Court on 16 January 2025. 

The court issued an arrest warrant for Akbay due to his failure to attend the hearings and present his defense. 

The trial was adjourned until 29 April 2025. 

The case, in which the defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 years and 6 months to 2 years and 1 month, had been appealed to the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation, which examined the file, reversed the verdicts unanimously on 26 November 2024, paving the way for a retrial. 

Prosecutor demands sentencing for Barış Pehlivan and Ozan Alper Yurtoğlu

The 10th hearing in the trial of Cumhuriyet columnist 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 16 January 2025.

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

The lawyers of the plaintiff Egemen Bağış and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demanded that Pehlivan and Yurtoğlu be punished. Pehlivan's lawyer, on the other hand, reiterated their previous defense and demanded acquittal.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor demanded the defendants be sentenced for both charges.

Pehlivan's lawyer requested time to prepare their defense against the prosecutor’s opinion.

The court accepted the time request and adjourned the trial until 29 April 2025.

In the lawsuit filed against journalists for Pehlivan's article titled “Sabıka Holding” published in Cumhuriyet on 13 October 2021, 10 people, including President Erdoğan, Süleyman Soylu, Egemen Bağış and Binali Yıldırım, are named as victims.

Die Welt reporter Deniz Yücel's trial postponed

The 10th hearing in the trial of German Die Welt newspaper reporter Deniz Yücel on charges of “publicly insulting the Turkish nation and the State of the Republic of Turkey” and “insulting the President” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 January 2025.

Yücel's lawyer Muhammed Ünsal was present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

“The client was previously tried in a heavy penal court over his statements subject to the indictment and that the Constitutional Court issued a violation decision,” Ünsal said. Ünsal presented the Constitutional Court's violation decision on Yücel to the court and demanded his acquittal.

The court decided to await the execution of the arrest warrant against Yücel and adjourned the trial until 1 July 2025.

Journalist Zeynep Kuray acquitted

The seventh hearing in the trial of journalist Zeynep Kuray and nine other defendants on charges of “violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the İstanbul 39th Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 January 2025.

The hearing was monitored by P24 and defendant lawyers were present.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor stated that the elements of the impugned crime did not occur and asked for the acquittal of all defendants. The defendant lawyers also demanded a verdict in line with the prosecutor's opinion.

The court acquitted all defendants individually on the grounds that the elements of the crime did not form.

Kuray, who was covering the May 2019 demonstration in support of then HDP (now known as DEM Party) MP Leyla Güven on hunger strike, was on trial along with nine others who participated in the demonstration.

Çiğdem Akbayrak acquitted of “insulting the president”

The second hearing in the retrial of journalist Çiğdem Akbayrak on charges of “insulting the president” following the Constitutional Court's ruling on the violation of rights was held at the 2nd Criminal Chamber of Trabzon Regional Court of Appeals on 15 January 2025.

Lawyer Hazal Sümeli, representing journalist Akbayrak, was present at the hearing, which was connected via the judicial videoconferencing system from the courtroom of Küçükçekmece 5th Criminal Court of First Instance.

After the prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case, lawyer Sümeli said, “There are decisions of the Constitutional Court that the deferment of the sentence practice is a violation of freedom of expression. When we look at the file, we see that the police conducted virtual patrols. The Constitutional Court has canceled this authorization. In fact, this is forbidden evidence. This evidence should not be in the file.”

The court acquitted Akbayrak.

The retrial of Sultan Eylem Keleş was postponed

The second hearing in the retrial of journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş on charges of “insulting the president” over her social media posts was held at the İzmir 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 15 January 2025.

In their final opinion, the prosecutor demanded sentencing for the impugned crime.

The court accepted the defense’s request for time to set up a counter-statement against the final opinion and adjourned the trial until 29 January 2025.

The trial of 38 defendants including Taylan Özgür Öztaş, Tunahan Turhan and Vedat Örüç adjourned

The 12th hearing in the trial of journalists Taylan Özgür Öztaş, Tunahan Turhan and Vedat Örüç and 35 other defendants on the charge of “violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the Anadolu 76th Criminal Court of First Instance on 14 January 2025.

Journalist Tunahan Turhan and lawyers were present at the hearing.

After Turhan's defense, the prosecutor declared their final opinion and demanded acquittal for journalists Vedat Örüç, Taylan Özgür Öztaş and Tunahan Turhan.

The court accepted the lawyers' request for additional time to prepare a defense and adjourned the trial until 25 March 2025.

The retrial of Tayip Temel and 37 other defendants adjourned until May

The 13th hearing in the retrial of 38 people, including former HDP Deputy Co-Chair and journalist Tayip Temel, on charges of “establishing and managing a terrorist organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 2nd High Criminal Court on 14 January 2025.

The trial was adjourned until 22 May 2025.

Three separate cases against Ahmet Sever adjourned until June

Trials of Ahmet Sever, journalist and former press advisor of 11th President Abdullah Gül, on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official” over statements in his book İçimde Kalmasın: Tanıklığımdır published in 2018, continued at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 14 January 2025.

Sever's lawyer Filiz Aydın was present at the hearings, which were monitored by P24. The court adjourned all three cases until 26 June 2025, deciding to wait for the return of Sever's writ of summons and to inquire about its fate.

The lawsuits against Sever were filed following complaints by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop, and former Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.

Singer Ferhat Tunç’s trial adjourned until April

The 17th hearing in the trial of singer Ferhat Tunç on the charge of “insulting a public official” was held at the Büyükçekmece 16th Criminal Court of First Instance on 13 January 2025.

No parties attended the hearing.

The court ruled to await the execution of the order for Tunç’s detention and adjourned the trial until 28 April 2025.

At least 31 journalist and media workers in prison

Following the release of Murat Çapan at the end of the hearing held on 14 January, as of 17 January 2025, there are at least 31 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.

Top