The case against Fincancı, Nesin and Önderoğlu, who are being retried on the grounds that they took part in the "Özgür Gündem Editor-in-Chief on Duty" campaign, has been adjourned until 24 December

CANAN COŞKUN, ISTANBUL

The 17th hearing in the retrial of Erol Önderoğlu, former representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Turkey; Prof. Dr Şebnem Korur Fincancı; and journalist and writer Ahmet Nesin – whose acquittals in the Özgür Gündem solidarity case had been overturned by the Court of Cassation – was held at the 13th Istanbul High Criminal Court on 15 September 2026.

Önderoğlu and his lawyer were present at the hearing, which P24 monitored.

The court decided to await the response to the letter of request sent abroad to obtain Ahmet Nesin’s defense statement. 

The case was adjourned until 24 December 2026.

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.