The court has sentenced İbrahim Aydın to 11 months and 20 days for “insult,” ordered Yaşar Gökdemir and Uğur Koç to pay fine of TL 34,500, and acquitted the three journalists of “discloasing the names of public officials”

RABİA ÇETİN, İSTANBUL

The third hearing in the trial of BirGün Board Chairman İbrahim Aydın, birgun.net Editor Uğur Koç, and Responsible Managing Editor Yaşar Gökdemir was held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on 22 October 2025. The journalists were charged with “disclosing the identities of public officials involved in the fight against terrorism” and “publicly insulting a public official” over their report on Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek’s visit to Sabah, a newspaper widely regarded as close to the government.

İbrahim Aydın, Uğur Koç, Yaşar Gökdemir, and their lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24. A large number of journalists also followed the hearing.

Repeating their final opinion they had presented at the previous hearing, the prosecutor requested that the three journalists be punished for the crimes of “insulting a public official” and “disclosing the identities of public officials involved in the fight against terrorism.”

Koç, who was the first to respond to the opinion, denied the allegations against him and requested acquittal: "I said it when I was detained and I said it at the first hearing: I wrote the news story. Today, the opinion presented by the prosecutor only mentions my social media posts. We are being tried on two charges. When I looked at the opinion, I did not see the grounds for the charge of ‘insulting a public official.’ It is not specified which of our concrete actions constitute the crime of ‘insult.’ It is also said that we targeted prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Akın Gürlek is a public official; every decision he makes is public. We did not disclose a secret decision. Furthermore, as the BirGün newspaper, we do not target anyone. Those who perform public duties can be criticized. I find it surprising that we are being tried for this news report," he said, requesting his acquittal.

Defending against the indictment, Gökdemir reminded the court that the news report in question was first published in the Sabah newspaper, but no legal proceedings were initiated against Sabah.

Gökdemir, who said that the phrase “mobile guillotine” in the news article belonged to CHP General Chairman Özgür Özel, requested his acquittal. Following Gökdemir, İbrahim Aydın also denied the allegations against him and requested his acquittal: "I have been a journalist for years. However, this is the first time I have been tried for a serious crime because of a news article. This situation alone sums up the period. Being tried for a serious crime because of a news story is unbelievable. It puts a damper on news stories about Akın Gürlek. All of this is a threat to journalism.”

”Even kids on the street know Akın Gürlek's name"

Ali Deniz Ceylan, one of the journalists' lawyers, also criticized the indictment in his defense. Ceylan said, "The prosecutor who wrote the indictment either does not know the law or has been influenced by the identity of the plaintiff. No justification has been given for the charges in the indictment. It is impossible to target Akın Gürlek. He is not a name associated with terrorist operations. But even children on the street know Akın Gürlek's name. It is impossible to target someone whose identity is so well known, whose photo is known, and whose trial decisions are known." Ceylan recalled that journalists Canan Coşkun and Buse Söğüt were tried on charges of targeting Akın Gürlek and were acquitted, and that the acquittal decisions were upheld.

Ceylan said, “The phrase ‘mobile guillotine’ is a label used by the opposition. It is not a phrase used by our newspaper. My clients will not be deterred from reporting the news. We request an acquittal.”

Lawyer Tolgay Güvercin also said, "The news article in question is quoted from the Sabah newspaper. However, the BirGün newspaper is being tried. Does the criminalization of a news story depend on the identity of those who produced it?" Güvercin demanded the acquittal of his clients.

After the defenses, Aydın, Koç, and Gökdemir, who were asked for their final statements, demanded acquittal.

The court ruled to acquit all three journalists on the charge of “disclosing the identities of public officials involved in the fight against terrorism.” However, for the crime of “publicly insulting a public official in connection with their duties,” İbrahim Aydın was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days, while Yaşar Gökdemir and Uğur Koç were each fined TL 34,500. The court deferred the sentence regarding Yaşar Gökdemir.

Background of the case

On 7 February 2025, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the managers of the BirGün newspaper over a news article published on the newspaper's website under the headline “Pro-government Sabah visits Akın Gürlek at his office.” In a raid on their homes at midnight on 8 February, Uğur Koç, Yaşar Demir, and the website's publication coordinator Berkant Gültekin were detained. The journalists were released on 9 February under judicial control measures.

The indictment, in which İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek was listed as the “victim,” was completed on 2 June. The indictment argued that the statements used in the news article in question were “offensive, humiliating, and damaging to the reputation of the opposing party, and therefore could not be considered within the scope of freedom of expression.”