The 10th Judicial Package will make “endangering public order” a grounds for arrest; Özlem Gürses handed jail term; actor İlyas Salman ordered to pay fine for “insulting the president”

The 10th Judicial Package will make “endangering public order” a grounds for arrest

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç provided information on the 40-article 10th Judiciary Package at the 23 April reception.

Tunç announced that a new charge called “risk of disrupting public order” will be added to the law as grounds for imprisonment.

Tunç stated that for crimes with sentences of less than two years, one-fifth of the sentence will be served in prison, and that the package will be sent to the AKP Group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly within a few days.

Indictment filed against jailed journalists Mehmet Uçar and Bilge Aksu

An indictment was prepared against journalists Mehmet Uçar and Bilge Aksu, who were detained and later imprisoned pending trial as part of an investigation launched by the Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” on 26 November 2024.

The indictment was accepted by the Eskişehir 2nd High Criminal Court, which ruled that it lacked jurisdiction. The journalists' files were separated and sent to the courts in the cities where they were detained.

The indictment cited the journalists' news reports, social media posts, and payments they received from their employers as grounds for the charges.

Bilge Aksu's indictment was accepted by the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court, while Uçar's indictment was accepted by the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court.

In the indictment, the use of the name “Kurdistan” in the news reports was considered a crime, and the use of the word “guerrilla” for PKK members was interpreted as “praise.” The fact that an investigation into “terrorism propaganda” was conducted against the owners of bank accounts that sent/received money from Uçar's bank account and the money transferred to Uçar's account from overseas accounts were also considered crime.

Uçar's trial date has not yet been set.

The indictment against Aksu also included allegations of money transfers from abroad to his account, and a video of a speech by Gültan Kışanak was presented as “evidence” for the charges.

Aksu's first hearing will be held on 3 July 2025.

JinNews reporter Rabia Önver gives statement

JinNews reporter Rabia Önver gave a statement at the Van Security Directorate on 22 April on the charge of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” over posts she made on her social media account.

Önver was questioned about her news posts and her posts about police violence during protests against the appointment of a trustee to the Batman Municipality. Önver stated that her posts were within the scope of freedom of thought and expression and that there were no criminal elements in them.

Özlem Gürses handed jail term

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Özlem Gürses on the charge of “publicly denigrating the state's military organization” over criticism she made about the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria on her YouTube channel was held at the İstanbul 30th Criminal Court of First Instance on 24 April 2025.

Gürses and her lawyers, Hüseyin Gürsöz and Enes Hikmet Ermaner, were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

In her defense, Gürses stated, “It is claimed that I insulted or defamed the Turkish Armed Forces by sharing an 8-second video clip selected from a 75-minute live broadcast through trolls and anonymous social media accounts. In my 30-year career as a journalist, you will not find a single word, not even an implication of insult, in any of the interviews I have conducted in the written press, in my live broadcasts on television, or in any of the content I have shared on my own YouTube channel.”

Gürses's lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, stated that the legal elements of the alleged crime did not form and that the judicial control measures imposed on his client were contrary to the law, and requested an acquittal.

The prosecutor, presenting their final opinion on the case, requested that Gürses be punished for the impugned crime and that the judicial control measure against her be lifted.

The court sentenced Gürses to 1 year and 3 months in prison for the impugned crime. The sentence was deferred. The judicial control measure against Gürses was also lifted.

Click here to read the details of the article.

Actor İlyas Salman ordered to pay fine for “insulting the president”

The sixth hearing in the trial of actor İlyas Salman, who is charged with “insulting the president” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 April 2025.

The hearing, which was monitored by P24, was attended by the lawyers of both parties. Salman did not attend the hearing.

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion on the case presented at the hearing on 5 November 2024, and requested that Salman be punished for the crime he was charged with.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer stated that they agreed with the opinion and requested that Salman be punished.

The court found Salman guilty of “insulting the president” and imposed a fine of TL 7,000.

MA editor Abdurrahman Gök's “terrorism” trial adjourned until September

The seventh hearing in the trial of Mezopotamya Agency editor Abdurrahman Gök, who is charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 22 April 2025.

The court ruled to keep in place the international travel ban on Gök and decided to request a copy of the investigation file opened against him in 2024 from the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The trial was adjourned until 11 September 2025.

Abdurrahman Gök was detained on 25 April 2023, as part of an investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Two days later, he was imprisoned pending trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda.” In addition to the case in which he was jailed, the journalist who photographed the killing of university student Kemal Kurkut by police during the 2017 Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır has also been subjected to“terrorism” charges in other cases and investigations. The second hearing in Gök's trial, in which he is being tried while in custody, was held on 5 December 2023 at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, and the court decided to release Gök with a ban on leaving the country.

Mehmet Ferhat Çelik and Osman Akın's trial adjourned until September

The sixth hearing in the trial of Mehmet Ferhat Çelik, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Yeni Yaşam, and Osman Akın, editor-in-chief, on charges of “defamation” and “insult” upon a complaint filed by Serhat Albayrak, deputy chairman of Turkuvaz Media, was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 22 April 2025.

Akın's lawyer, Özcan Kılıç, did not attend the hearing, citing a valid reason.

Albayrak's lawyer said that the complaints were still ongoing.

The case was adjourned until 14 September 2025.

At least 30 journalists and media workers in prison

As of 25 April 2025, there are at least 30 journalists and media workers in pre-trial detention or imprisonment in Turkey.

The full list can be accessed here.