Expression Interrupted

Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

Journalist Metin Cihan’s trial to resume in May

Journalist Metin Cihan’s trial to resume in May

 

Metin Cihan is on trial on the charge of “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data” for publishing leaked documents from the pro-government foundation TÜGVA. The trial was postponed until May

 

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

 

The second hearing in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan on the charge of “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data” for publishing leaked documents from the pro-government Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), which allegedly showed widespread nepotism in state institutions, was held on 15 April 2022 at the İstanbul 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

 

P24 monitored the hearing, where the lawyers representing the parties were in attendance. Ramazan Aydoğdu, a former TÜGVA worker who was detained on the allegation of providing Cihan with the leaked documents, participated in the hearing from Üsküdar Paşa Closed Prison via the judicial video-conferencing system SEGBİS.

 

At the hearing, the presiding judge read out the brief submitted by TÜGVA, claiming that Aydoğdu was not on the payroll of TÜGVA, but merely worked at the foundation as a volunteer. 

 

TÜGVA’s lawyer addressed the court to assert that their complaint remained the same, and asked the court to join the case as the plaintiff.

 

In his defense statement, Aydoğdu stated that he was in charge of coordination between provincial and district organizations at TÜGVA, which could be confirmed by his text messages and e-mail correspondence. “The complainant side claims that I was not an employee of the foundation because they are intent on my punishment,” Aydoğdu said.

 

“Legal entities cannot possess personal data”

 

Ramazan Aydoğdu’s lawyer argued against TÜGVA’s request to join the case, stating that only a natural person could be considered a victim within the meaning of the relevant article of the law, a definition that did not extend to legal entities.

 

The lawyer also claimed that there was no connection between Metin Cihan and their client Ramazan Aydoğdu, and asked the court to release Aydoğdu pending trial taking into account the time he spent in detention.

 

In his defense statement, Özgür Urfa, Metin Cihan’s lawyer, said, “The complainant is a legal entity. Legal entities cannot possess personal data. For this reason, we ask the court to reject their request to join the case. We’d also like to ask the court to inquire of TÜGVA whether the documents published by Metin Cihan were genuine or not.”

 

Lawyer Urfa continued: “The prosecution has failed to establish the connection between the other defendant and my client. Therefore, we’d ask the court to separate their files. In addition, my client is a journalist and shared his posts within the framework of journalism. We demand his acquittal.”

 

In his opinion, the trial prosecutor asked the court to accept TÜGVA’s request to join the case as a party “affected by crime,” to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued for Metin Cihan, and to rule for the continuation of Aydoğdu’s pre-trial detention due to the nature and classification of the imputed crime.

 

TÜGVA’s request to join the case accepted

 

In response to the prosecutor’s opinion, Aydoğdu addressed the court to say, “There is no evidence that I sent documents to the journalist named Metin Cihan,” and demanded his release and acquittal.

 

Announcing its interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to accept TÜGVA’s request to join the case as the plaintiff and commission an expert opinion to determine how the TÜGVA documents were obtained; whether the documents were manipulated or altered and how they were sent, and whether there was any connection between the defendants. Ruling for the continuation of Ramazan Aydoğdu’s detention and the arrest warrant issued for Metin Cihan, the court adjourned the trial until 11 May 2022.

 

Case background

 

In October 2021, Metin Cihan published on his Twitter account documents that allegedly showed that TÜGVA was involved in hundreds of appointments to prominent positions in the judiciary, military, police department and other state institutions, and that the foundation kept the records of all such appointments.

 

Cihan claimed the documents were handed to him by a person who worked for the foundation, whose high advisory board includes Bilal Erdoğan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son. In response, TÜGVA President Enes Eminoğlu claimed on 12 October 2021 that the documents Cihan published were fake, whereas, on 13 October 2021, he went on to say, “He apparently received the documents from the inside; there is some correct information.”

 

As part of the investigation launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ramazan Aydoğdu, a former TÜGVA employee, was detained on the allegation that he had sent photos of the contested documents to Metin Cihan.

 

Metin Cihan, who resides abroad, is charged with successively “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data,” while Ramazan Aydoğdu stands trial for “contaminating, destroying or barring access to data in a data processing system; introducing data into a system, etc.” and “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data.”

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