Biçici was on trial for allegedly “insulting the president” in a report about a statement by the hacker group Anonymous, published on the news portal in June 2020

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

Dokuz8HABER Editor-in-Chief Gökhan Biçici appeared before the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance on 17 February 2022 for the second and final hearing of his trial on the charge of “insulting the president” under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The accusation stemmed from a report about a statement by Anonymous, published on Dokuz8HABER on 1 June 2020. Titled “Hacker grubu Anonymous’tan Erdoğan’a Berkin Elvan örneğiyle tepki” (Hacker group Anonymous reacts to Erdoğan with Berkin Elvan example), the report was about the hacker group’s reaction to a statement President Erdoğan made on Twitter concerning the murder of George Floyd in police custody in May 2020.

Biçici and his lawyers attended the hearing, which was also monitored by the Turkey Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Erol Önderoğlu. Erdoğan’s lawyer did not attend the hearing.

Presenting his final opinion during the hearing, the prosecutor demanded the acquittal of Biçici on the grounds that the content in question remained within the scope of news reporting and that therefore the act did not constitute the alleged offense.

Addressing the court regarding the prosecutor's final opinion, Biçici and his lawyers also said that the report was within the scope of journalism activities and it contained no intent to insult.

Ruling that Biçici did not act with criminal intent and that therefore the elements of the alleged crime did not occur, the court acquitted the journalist.