Avşar and Önemli are on trial for disclosing the name of the prosecutor who issued the Sözcü newspaper indictment in two news articles published in 2019 in Cumhuriyet and Sözcü

The third hearing of a trial where Cumhuriyet reporter Seyhan Avşar and Sözcü newspaper’s Responsible Managing Editor Necdet Önemli are charged with “marking those involved in the fight against terrorism as target” was held on 11 March 2021 at the Istanbul 29th High Criminal Court.

P24 monitored the hearing, where Avşar and defense lawyers were in attendance. Önemli was not present.

Submitting their final opinion, the prosecutor requested the court to convict Avşar and Önemli of “disclosing the identities of public officials involved in the fight against terrorism” under Article 6 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).

Avşar and defense lawyers requested a continuance to prepare their final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s opinion. Granting a continuance to the defendants, the court adjourned the trial until 16 March.

Avşar and Önemli are on trial for mentioning the full name of the prosecutor who had issued the Sözcü newspaper indictment in two news articles published in March 2019 in Cumhuriyet and Sözcü. Avşar’s report was about a 10-month sentence the prosecutor had been given in a previous case, where he was accused of “extortion.” Based on Avşar’s report, Sözcü published a similar story a day later on its online edition.