“I had said I would not defend myself in the local court. If I had defended myself, it would have meant to justify the [disinformation] law," Aygül stated

RUŞEN TAKVA, VAN

The first hearing in the retrial of journalist Sinan Aygül on the charge of “spreading false information” was held at the 2nd Criminal Chamber of Van Regional Court of Appeals on 25 September 2024.

Aygül and his lawyer Diyar Orak attended the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system (SEGBİS) from Tatvan Courthouse.

Court panel member: “We are not going to discuss courts of first instance with you”After the identification, the court panel gave the floor to Aygül. “I had said that I would not make a defense in the local court because the appellatte courts have turned into the approval authority of the local courts. If I had made a defense, it would have meant to justify the [disinformation] law,” Aygül said.After Aygül's defense, a member of the court panel said, “We are not here to discuss or criticize the court of first instance. You are the defendant, and we are the court panel. If you have a defense on the subject, make it.”

After Aygül responded, “I want what I have said to be recorded within the scope of the right to defense,”the court panel recorded the statements in the minutes.

Lawyer Orak: “We demand relief for my client" After the prosecutor announced their final opinion and asked for acquittal, lawyer Orak took the floor. Orak said, “We fully agree with the final opinion. The Court of Cassation had already ruled in favor of my client. However, my client was victimized both during the investigation and the trial. His house was searched in the middle of the night. Although the elements of the crime did not form, an arrest warrant was issued. We see that there are multiple violations against the client. For this reason, we demand relief for my client, and a verdict of acquittal be issued.”

After a five-minute recess, the court announced its verdict. The court acquitted Sinan Aygül on the grounds that “the legal elements of the crime did not form,” in line with the decision of the Court of Cassation.

Background of the caseAygül was imprisoned on 14 December 2022 over his social media posts concerning claims of sexual assault against a child and was released on 22 December 2022 upon the objection of his lawyers. On 28 February 2022, the Tatvan Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Aygül to 10 months of imprisonment.The appeal Aygül and his lawyers filed with the Van Regional Court of Justice was rejected on 26 May 2023. Aygül’s lawyers then applied to the appellate court.Examining the appeal, the 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled unanimously to overturn the ruling concerning Aygül issued by the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Van Regional Court of Justice. The Court of Cassation ruling cites the justification of the proposed law on Turkish Penal Code article 217/A which was submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.This was the first time a ruling on an article 217/A charge, which was added to the Turkish Penal Code in October 2022, was overturned.

Click here for details of the case.