The court voted unanimously to sentence Terkoğlu to 2 years of imprisonment and did not reduce the sentence as the journalist “did not show remorse”

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

The 11th hearing in the trial of journalist Barış Terkoğlu on the charge of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets” over a news item that was published on the Odatv website, and a column published in the Cumhuriyet newspaper and over the complaint filed by the Deputy Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, was held at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 2 May 2024.

Terkoğlu and his lawyers for the parties were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

The prosecutor repeated their final opinion on the case presented at the ninth hearing on 28 September 2023 and requested sentencing for Terkoğlu for the impugned crime of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets.”

“These cases are filed to prevent criticism”

Delivering his defense statement against the prosecutor’s opinion, Terkoğlu stated that he was the newsroom director at Odatv when the news item was published and therefore did not have criminal culpability. Terkoğlu went on as follows:

“Judges, prosecutors and police officers are citizens. They can therefore be criticized for their actions and decisions. A protective shield specifically for them is unconstitutional. In 90 percent of the articles I write, I criticize the judiciary. That is something altogether different from marking someone as a target. The prosecution’s opinion runs counter to the aim of the law. This is an intervention, which makes it impossible to criticize some judges and prosecutors.

“The news item published on Odatv was from Anka News Agency. As the newsroom director, I am not legally responsible. You may not put the newsroom director on trial for a news item that was obtained from Anka, this is also unlawful. As a journalist, I do not think there was any problem with Anka’s news item, nor it marked anyone as a target. In my article published in Cumhuriyet, I criticized Akın Gürlek for going beyond what being a judge entails and for taking political decisions. These court cases are filed to prevent criticism.”

Tugay Topbaş, one of Terkoğlu’s lawyers said that the news item published on Odatv was taken from Anka News Agency and therefore his client was not legally culpable. Topbaş said, “To call judges and prosecutors ‘counter-terrorism officials’ renders them ordinary civil servants within the hierarchical structure. However, judges are subjects of the law who work on behalf of the Turkish nation. The material and criminal intent elements of the crime have not formed. We request my client’s acquittal.”

Enes Hikmet Ermaner, another lawyer for Terkoğlu, also delivered a counter-statement against the opinion and said, “The alleged victim is well-kown to the public. The decisions Akın Gürlek has taken do not provide him with a defensive shield, on the contrary, any unlawful decisions he has taken should be discussed publicly. For elements of this crime to have formed, my client would have had to target the alleged victim with special motive. However, my client has not acted with special motive. We request his acquittal.”

Asked for his final statement, Terkoğlu said, “It is not the case that anyone has been marked as a target. I request that you rule for my acquittal, taking into account my constitutional right.”

The court sentenced Barış Terkoğlu to 2 years of imprisonment for the crime of “marking those assigned with the fight against terrorism as targets.” The panel of judges arrived at the ruling unanimously and did not reduce the sentence due to Terkoğlu’s “attitude and behavior during the trial, personal characteristics and his lack of remorse at the crime he had committed.”

Terkoğlu stood trial for the news item titled “Türkiye’nin gündemindeki kararları hep aynı hakim veriyor,” (“The same judge takes all the decisions on Turkey’s agenda”) which was published on the Odatv website on 14 October 2020, while he acted as the newsroom director, and his column titled “Türkiye’yi karıştıran hakimi nereden hatırlıyorum?” (“Why is the judge who causes trouble in Turkey so familiar?”) which was published in the Cumhuriyet newspaper on 15 October 2020.