Following the Court of Cassation's decision to overturn the prison sentences handed down to Altan and Ilıcak, the prosecutor presented their final opinion on the case in the retrial and requested a sentence. The case was postponed until 12 March for the defense to present their case

EYLEM SONBAHAR, ISTANBUL

The first hearing in the retrial of journalists Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak, who are charged with “aiding an illegal organization without being a member” after the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned their original sentence, was held at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 27 January 2026.

Nazlı Ilıcak and her lawyer Tuğper Derin, as well as Ahmet Altan's lawyer Figen Albuga Çalıkuşu, were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24. Altan did not attend the hearing.

When asked by the presiding judge about the Court of Cassation's decision to overturn the verdict, Ilıcak and her lawyer requested that the overturning be complied with. Altan's lawyer, Figen Çalıkuşu, also said, “It should be complied with insofar as it is favorable.”

The prosecutor requested compliance with the Court of Cassation's reversal ruling. The presiding judge said, “It has been unanimously decided to comply with the relevant Court of Cassation Criminal Chamber's reversal ruling in accordance with procedure and law,” and the hearing continued.

Prosecutor seeks punishment

Explaining their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor requested that Altan and Ilıcak be punished separately for the crime of “knowingly and willingly aiding an illegal organization, even though they were not members of it.” The prosecutor stated the following in their opinion: 

"Ahmet Altan was the founder and editor-in-chief of the Taraf newspaper, which was closed after the coup attempt and used by the organization for manipulation. He wrote for the news site ‘haberdar.com,’ which is the publication organ of the terrorist organization. His articles titled ‘I Am Here, Talk to Me’ dated 3 March 2015, and ‘Absolute Fear’ dated 12 May 2016, and his speech on the program ‘Free Thought’ on the television channel Can Erzincan on 14 July 2016, with Mehmet Hasan Altan and defendant Nazlı Ilıcak, constitute the crime of aiding an armed terrorist organization..."

"Nazlı Ilıcak wrote for publications belonging to or affiliated with the organization for a long time, wrote the book ‘Is 'The Cemaat’ Under Every Stone?' in 2012 to maintain the organization's visible legitimacy, used her Twitter social media account, including on the day of the coup attempt, to create public opinion in line with the terrorist organization's objectives. According to witness statements from individuals who left the organization while holding senior management positions, she was in contact with the media structure of the FETÖ/PDY Armed Terrorist Organization and, according to HTS records, with senior leaders of the organization. Notes related to members of the organization were found in notebooks seized from her residence. and that his speech on the program Free Thought on the television channel Can Erzincan with Mehmet Hasan Altan and defendant Ahmet Hüsrev Altan one day before the coup attempt constituted the crime of aiding an armed terrorist organization through actions serving the organization's purpose..."

Requesting time to prepare a defense against the opinion, Ilıcak said, “The alleged crime is a very serious accusation. The allegations against me are not based on any concrete evidence. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) evaluates all my actions within the framework of journalism. I am not guilty, and I demand my acquittal.”

Altan's lawyer, Çalıkuşu, also said, "When the Court of Cassation first examined our case, the ECtHR decision was taken as a basis, but now the ECtHR decision is being ignored. As you know, there is also an ECtHR decision regarding my client. There is no valid explanation under the law for considering one of two ECtHR decisions with the same content in the same case file while disregarding the other." Çalıkuşu also requested time to prepare a defense against the opinion.

The court postponed the case until 12 March 2026 to allow for the preparation of defenses against the prosecutor’s opinion.

Background of the case

Novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, his brother, columnist and professor of economics Mehmet Altan, journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, former Zaman staffers Fevzi Yazıcı and Yakup Şimşek and former Police Academy lecturer Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül were each sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order” in February 2018. The indictment alleged that all six had prior knowledge of the failed coup attempt of 15 July 2016.

At the end of their retrial, ordered by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court acquitted Mehmet Altan but convicted Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” and ordering their release pending appeal. Accordingly, Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak were released from prison on 4 November 2019 after spending more than three years in detention on remand as part of the case.

However, eight days later, Ahmet Altan was rearrested at the request of the prosecutor who objected to Altan’s release.

Altan and Ilıcak’s co-defendants Yazıcı, Şimşek and Özşengül were convicted of “membership in a terrorist organization” at the retrial. They were each given prison sentences above 10 years and ordered to remain in behind bars. The Anadolu Agancy report did not include information on the Court of Cassation’s decision concerning Yazıcı, Şimşek and Özşengül's sentences.

The Court of Cassation Prosecutor's Office requested on 29 April 2021 that the decision of the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 14 April 2021 be overturned and reversed with respect to Yazıcı, Şimşek, and Özşengül, and that the case was referred to the Criminal General Assembly of the Court of Cassation.

The convictions of Özşengül, Yazıcı, and Şimşek were overturned by the Court of Cassation Criminal General Assembly's decision dated 8 December 2022, and the case was sent back to the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court, the court of first instance, for retrial. In accordance with the overturning ruling, the Istanbul 26th High Penal Court, which issued a hearing record on 2 March 2023 for retrial, decided to release Özşengül, who had died in prison as a result of a heart attack, and separated his file.

The third hearing in the retrial of Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Fevzi Yazıcı, the former visual director of the now-closed Zaman newspaper, and Yakup Şimşek, the newspaper's brand marketing director, whose sentences were overturned by the Court of Cassation, was held on 14 February 2024, at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.

The court sentenced Nazlı Ilıcak to 5 years and 3 months, Ahmet Altan to 6 years, 3 months, and 18 days, and Fevzi Yazıcı to 1 year and 13 months in prison on charges of “aiding an illegal organization without being a member.” The court decided to continue judicial control measures for Ilıcak and Altan, but lifted the ban on Yazıcı leaving the country, taking into account the length of the sentence; the time the defendant spent under judicial control; and the time spent in detention. The court acquitted Yakup Şimşek because no conclusive and convincing evidence was found that he had committed the impugned crime of “membership in a terrorist organization.”

In its review on 10 September 2025, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict against Fevzi Yazıcı but overturned the verdicts against Altan and Ilıcak. The Chamber also decided to lift the ban on Altan traveling abroad. The case was sent back to the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court, the court of first instance, for retrial. The court, which issued a hearing order on 15 October 2025, for the retrial, set the hearing date for 27 January. The court ruled that Nazlı Ilıcak's international travel ban should continue.