The trial of Türkdoğan on charges of “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey” was held summarily due to the reassignment of the court judge and the trail was adjourned until March

ALTAN SANCAR, ANKARA

The first hearing in the trial of Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan on charges of “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey” over the article titled “Adalet ve Hakikat İçin Ermeni Soykırımı’nın İnkârına Son!” (“Stop Denying the Armenian Genocide for Justice and Truth”) that appeared on the association’s website on 24 April 2017 was held summarily due to the reassignment of the court judge.

The indictment against Türkdoğan was accepted by the Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance and the hearing date was set for 15 December 2022.

However, the court judge was promoted to the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice 15 days before the hearing.

The judge, who has been reassigned as prosecutor for the appellate court as per Resolutions 1872 and 1873 on the Penal and Administrative Judiciary dated 1 December 2022 by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) went on leave a week before the hearing.

The hearing was held summarily by a judge on duty and the trial was adjourned until 2 March 2023 to allow Türkdoğan and his lawyers time to deliver their defense statement.

Background of the case

The indictment had cited the announcement titled “Adalet ve Hakikat İçin Ermeni Soykırımı’nın İnkârına Son!” (“Stop Denying the Armenian Genocide for Justice and Truth”), claimed to have been “identified following a report” as evidence of the charge against Türkdoğan.

The prosecutor who prepared the indictment had appointed a court expert to investigate the İHD for “violating the law on associations” and for evaluation for offenses of “insulting a public official” and “publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey.” The court expert who examined the activities of the association from 2016 to 2020 had cited a lack of authority to evaluate in their report.