Furkan Karabay handed jail term on 2 separate charges; Necla Demir released with prison sentence; journalists' file separated in the case with 99 defendants

Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı detained

Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who claimed on his X account on 16 April that “CHP's 38th Ordinary Assembly will be cancelled and trustees will be appointed to the party,” was detained in Bolu on 17 April.

Kütahyalı was released with a ban on leaving the country and under judicial control measure.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation against Kütahyalı on the charge of “spreading false information.”

Furkan Karabay handed jail term on two separate charges

The third hearing in the trial of journalist Furkan Karabay, who is on trial upon complaints filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his sons Bilal Erdoğan and Ahmet Burak Erdoğan and his daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar on charges of “insulting the president,” “insult” and “defamation” was held  at the İstanbul 56th Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 April 2025.

Karabay and the lawyers of the parties were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion they presented in the previous hearing and demanded that Karabay be sentenced for the impugned crimes.

The court sentenced Karabay to 11 months and 20 days in prison for “insulting the president” and 1 year, 1 month and 10 days for “defamation,” and deferred the sentence. The court acquitted the journalist of “insult.”

Journalists' files separated in case with ninety-nine defendants

The first hearing in the trial of 99 people, including journalists Bülent Kılıç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Gökhan Kam, Kurtuluş Arı, Ali Onur Tosun, Hayri Tunç and Emre Orman, who were detained and arrested for a day while covering the protests following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, on the charge of “violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” was held at the İstanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 18 April 2025.

Journalists Bülent Kılıç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Gökhan Kam, Kurtuluş Arı, Ali Onur Tosun, Hayri Tunç, Emre Orman and other defendants and their lawyers were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

The defense demanded an immediate acquittal, and if there is no acquittal, requested the dismissal of the case.

In an interim ruling, the court decided to separate the cases of eight journalists and four lawyers.

Three separate compensation cases against journalist Furkan Karabay adjourned

The third hearing in the compensation case filed against journalist Furkan Karabay upon the complaint of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's former lawyer Mustafa Doğan İnal over his social media posts was held at the İstanbul 32nd Civil Court of First Instance on 15 April 2025.

Karabay did not attend the hearing where the lawyers of the parties were present.

The lawyer of the plaintiff İnal said, “The other party systematically violates the personal rights of the client by using the profession of journalism, our lawsuit should be accepted.” Karabay's lawyer demanded the dismissal of the case.

The court decided to wait for the outcome of the case against Karabay overseen at the İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance and adjourned the trial until 11 September 2025.

The fifth hearing in the compensation case filed against Karabay by Antalya Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Yakup Ali Kahveci was held at the İstanbul 12th Civil Court of First Instance on 16 April 2025.

The hearing, in which the lawyers of the parties did not attend with an excuse, was held through the file.

The case was adjourned until 12 November 2025.

The sixth hearing in non-pecuniary damages lawsuit filed against Karabay was held at the İstanbul 33rd Civil Court of First Instance on 17 April 2025.

The lawyer of the plaintiff Mustafa Doğan İnal requested the acceptance of the lawsuit. Karabay's lawyer, on the other hand, reminded that the verdict in the criminal case filed against his client at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance upon İnal's complaint was finalized and requested the dismissal of the lawsuit.

The court decided to issue a writ to the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance for the summons of the finalized verdict.

The case was adjourned until 8 July 2025.

Prosecutor demands sentencing in Naci Sapan's case

The first hearing in the trial of Tigris News Editorial Coordinator and writer Naci Sapan on the charge of “insult” over the column titled “Kayyımlar, kayyımcıklar!” (Trustees, little trustees!” was held at the Diyarbakır 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 17 April 2025.

Sapan and his lawyer were present at the hearing.

The prosecutor announced their final opinion on the case and demanded that Sapan be sentenced for the impugned crime.

The court gave Sapan and his lawyer time to prepare their defense against the final opinion and adjourned the trial until 20 May 2025.

Journalist Alican Uludağ acquitted in retrial

The fifth hearing in the retrial of journalist Alican Uludağ on charges of “violation of privacy” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 17 April 2025.

Uludağ's lawyer was present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented at the hearing on 11 September 2024 and demanded that Uludağ be sentenced for “violation of privacy.”

The court ruled for the acquittal of Uludağ. The court also decided to reverse the previous ruling of deferring the sentence for Uludağ in accordance with the Constitutional Court's decision.

Journalist Özlem Gürses' trial postponed

The first hearing in the trial of journalist Özlem Gürses on the charge of “publicly degrading the military organization of the state” over her criticism of the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria on her YouTube channel, was held at the İstanbul 30th Criminal Court of First Instance on 17 April 2025.

Gürses' lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Gürses' lawyer Hüseyin Ersöz stated that his client is a presenter at Sözcü TV and could not attend the hearing due to the busy agenda. Ersöz requested time to prepare Gürses for the next hearing.

The court accepted the time request and adjourned the trial until 24 April 2025.

Jailed journalist Velat Ekin acquitted

The first hearing in the trial of jailed journalist Velat Ekin on the charge “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 16 April 2025

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

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor demanded that Ekin be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization” and be kept in detention.

Taking the floor against the final opinion, Ekin repeated his previous defenses and demanded his acquittal.

The court acquitted and released Ekin since the elements of the crime did not form.

Click here for the details of the article.

Bahadır Özgür handed jail term

The final hearing in the trial of journalist Bahadır Özgür on the charge of “denigrating the state and government of the Republic of Turkey” was held at the Mudanya 1st Criminal Court of First Instance on 16 April 2025.

Özgür was sentenced to 3 months and 22 days in prison. The sentence was deferred.

In 2023, Mudanya Public Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against Özgür for “denigrating the state and government of the Republic of Turkey” over his speech at the Mudanya Book Fair on 2 October 2022. Mudanya 1st Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment and opened the criminal case on 22 May 2024.

Can Dündar's “Mit Trucks” trial adjourned

The 12th hearing in the trial of journalist Can Dündar on the charge of “obtaining and disclosing confidential information on the security of the state for political or military espionage purposes” in the “MIT Trucks” case was held at the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on 15 April 2025.

Dündar and his lawyer did not attend the hearing.

The trial was adjourned until 9 September 2025.

The trial of Can Dündar on the charge of “printing statements of a terrorist organization” adjourned until September

The 22nd hearing in the trial of Can Dündar, former Editor-in-Chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, on the charge of “printing or publishing statements of terrorist organizations” over his participation in the Editor-in-Chief on Watch campaign organized in 2016 to support Özgür Gündem newspaper, was held at the İstanbul 22nd High Criminal Court on 15 April 2025.

Dündar and his lawyer did not attend the hearing and the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued against Dündar.

The trial was adjourned until 25 September 2025.

Jailed journalist Necla Demir released with prison sentence

The first hearing in the trial of jailed journalist Necla Demir on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” over her professional activities was held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 14 April 2025.

Demir attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison, where she is currently under arrest.

Demir started her defense after identification and said, “As a journalist who has been practicing this profession for 10 years, I have examined the indictment. In fact, the subject of the trial is journalistic activity. I have been presenting a program on the problems of women. Most of the indictment includes transcripts of the programs I have done. Those parts are the statements of the guests in the program. I choose the guests, but I cannot decide how they will evaluate the subject.”

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor demanded that Demir be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization” and be kept in detention.

The court sentenced Demir to 1 year and 13 months on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization” and ruled for his release with a ban on leaving the country.

Hayri Demir given jail term in retrial

The eighth hearing in the retrial of journalist Hayri Demir on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” over news materials found on an external disk was held at the Ankara 15th High Criminal Court on 14 April 2025.

Demir and his lawyer Ercan İpekçi were present in the courtroom.

In his defense, Demir stated that he was on trial for his journalistic activities and that he did not engage in any activities other than his professional activities while he was in Syria.

The court acquitted Demir of “membership in a terrorist organization” and sentenced him to 2 years 9 months and 22 days in prison for “terrorism propaganda.”

The case will be appealed.

Prosecutor demands acquittal for Lütfiye Burcu Kara

The second hearing in the trial of Lütfiye Burcu Kara, reporter for Mücadele Birliği newspaper, on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the İzmir 2nd High Criminal Court on 15 April 2025.

Kara and her lawyers Bahattin Özdemir, Şule Arslan Hızal and Mehmet Ali Karakavuk attended the hearing. Witness Buse Aslan joined the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system.

In her testimony, witness Aslan claimed that Kara was a member of the Communist Labor Party of Turkey / Leninist (TKEP/L) at an executive level. Aslan also claimed that Kara had shared the footage he took with the organization via the Signal app and that this was done for police detection purposes.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor stated that the charges were not supported by concrete and sufficient evidence and asked for acquittal.

Kara and her lawyers requested more time to prepare their defense. The court accepted this request and scheduled the next hearing for 22 May 2025.

Journalist Lütfiye Burcu Kara was imprisoned pending trial on September 28, 2024 during a raid on Mücadele Birliğinewspaper on the allegations of having links with the TKEP/L organization and was released on 20 February 2025. Kara was charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” based on secret and various witness statements.

Journalist Melisa Gülbaş's trial adjourned until October

The third hearing in the trial of journalist Melisa Gülbaş on the charge of “insulting a public official” upon the complaint of Dr. Mehmet Turan, a faculty member at Boğaziçi University Computer Engineering Department, was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 15 April 2025.

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

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented at the hearing on 30 May 2024 and demanded that Gülbaş be sentenced for the impugned crime.

The court accepted the defense’s request for expansion of the investigation and requested the summons of the file of plaintiff Mehmet Turan at the İstanbul 3rd Administrative Court. 

The trial was adjourned until 9 October 2025.

At least 30 journalists and media workers in prison

Following the release of journalists Necla Demir and Velat Ekin, there are now at least 30 journalists and media workers in pre-trial detention or imprisonment in Turkey.

The full list can be accessed here.