Şardan was on trial on charges of “publicly denigrating the state’s military or law enforcement agencies” for writing about an alleged affair within the Gendarmerie

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The second hearing in the case against journalist Tolga Şardan, filed on charges of “publicly insulting the state’s military or law enforcement agencies” following a complaint by the Legal Affairs Directorate of the General Command of the Gendarmerie, was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 30 April 2026. 

Şardan and his lawyers were present in the courtroom. P24 monitored the hearing. 

The prosecutor, presenting their final opinion on the case, requested that Şardan be punished. 

In his defense, Şardan stated, “I brought the news in question to the public’s attention in the public interest. The claims in the news article are not my own. It is not I who publicly disparaged the institutions, but the uniformed personnel of the relevant institution,” and requested acquittal. 

Özlem Tekşen, one of Şardan’s lawyers, stated, “The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a decision of no grounds for prosecution regarding the same article. A person cannot be tried more than once for the same act. We are requesting acquittal.”

Lawyer Gökhan Tekşen also argued, “It is established that the events described in the news article in question occurred, and the institution has not issued any denial. Is the one who wrote this the one insulting, or the one who did it? The journalist documented the events as they occurred and reported them in the public interest,” and requested an acquittal.

The court ruled to acquit Şardan on the grounds that the elements of the impugned crime were not established.

Background of the case

On 20 August 2024, Şardan authored an article titled “Jandarmada ‘yasak aşk’ skandalı: Tuğgeneral emrindeki evli kadın subayı hamile bıraktı” (‘Forbidden love’ scandal in the Gendarmerie: Brigadier General impregnated a married female officer under his command,” which was published on T24 news site. The article, which addressed allegations of a relationship allegedly taking place within the Gendarmerie, was also published on the Yeniçağ newspaper’s website on the same date.

The General Command of the Gendarmerie filed a complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the article published on the Yeniçağ newspaper’s website. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, noting that the Yeniçağ newspaper’s administrative address was in Istanbul, referred the case to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on grounds of lack of jurisdiction. The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office noted that the article had also been published on T24 under Şardan’s byline and that the website’s administrative address fell outside its jurisdiction, and forwarded the case to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In the indictment filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 6 February 2025, it was alleged that Şardan had targeted institutions and exceeded the bounds of criticism.