Since the retrial began on 3 February 2021, a response is awaited to the letter sent to obtain Ahmet Nesin's defense from abroad

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The 14th hearing in the retrial of Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), rights defender Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, and journalist Ahmet Nesin on charges of “incitement to commit a crime,” “praising an offense or an offender,” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on 9 September 2025. The acquittal decisions issued for the defendants were overturned by the appellate court in the “Özgür Gündem solidarity” case.

Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Erol Önderoğlu, along with their lawyers, were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

The presiding judge stated that they were awaiting the return of the letter rogatory sent abroad to obtain Ahmet Nesin's defense statement, and asked Fincancı and Önderoğlu if they had anything to say. They said they had no requests.

The court decided to wait for the response to the request sent abroad and postponed the case until 25 December 22025.

Background of the case

Önderoğlu, Fincancı, and Nesin were imprisoned pending trial on 20 June 2016, on charges of “terrorism propaganda” for participating in the “Editor-in-Chief on Duty” campaign launched in May 2016 in solidarity with the closed Özgür Gündem newspaper.

The indictment filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office demanded that Fincancı, Önderoğlu, and Nesin be punished for the crimes of “openly inciting others to commit crimes,” “praising an offense or an offender,” and “terrorism propaganda.”

The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which accepted the indictment, accepted the lawyers' petitions against the detention and decided to release Önderoğlu, Fincancı, and Nesin on 30 June 2016.

At the hearing on 17 July 2019, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court ruled that the legal conditions for the crimes they were charged with did not exist and acquitted Fincancı, Önderoğlu, and Nesin of all charges separately.

On 20 October 2020, the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals, 3rd Criminal Chamber, overturned the acquittal decision in the “Özgür Gündem solidarity case” and the case was sent back to the court of first instance for retrial. The retrial of Fincancı, Önderoğlu, and Nesin began on 3 February 2021.