Journalist Timur Soykan was on trial on charges of “spreading false information” and “incitement to commit a crime” over social media posts he made concerning the operations launched against CHP-run municipalities

The fourth hearing in the case against journalist Timur Soykan on charges of “spreading false information” and “incitement to commit a crime” was held at the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 11 September 2026.

Soykan was not present at the hearing, but his lawyer, Enes Hikmet Ermaner, was in attendance.

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion they had presented at the second hearing on 16 June 2026 and requested that Soykan be convicted of the impugned crimes.

Lawyer Ermaner, stating that he was repeating his previous defenses, requested his client’s acquittal.

The court ruled that Soykan be acquitted on both charges.

Background of the case

Journalist Timur Soykan was detained on 5 July 2025 over his X posts regarding operations targeting CHP-run municipalities. Soykan, who was referred to court for detention, was released under judicial control measures requiring him to sign in and prohibiting him from leaving the country.

The indictment, dated 27 October 2025, and based on allegations of “spreading false information” and “incitement to commit a crime,” included two of Soykan’s social media posts.

The prosecution stated that Soykan’s post reading, “The regime is declaring that it no longer has any interest in convincing society of corruption operations. It tells the public, ‘You cannot choose any authority other than me. You are my captive,’ and the coup continues. The will of the people is being usurped. The meaning of the ballot box is lost” regarding investigations into crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, and bid-rigging, contained “misinformation and statements contrary to the truth.” It argued that this post was capable of disrupting public peace.

Regarding the statement in another post reading, “The people will either submit to this oppression and become slaves of the regime, growing even poorer, or they will defend their freedom, their rights, and their country,” the prosecutor assessed this as constituting the crime of “incitement to commit a crime” and included the following remarks: “The suspect’s post(s) are capable of influencing those who read them, and given the provocative nature of the content, the manner of expression, and the form of publication—which, despite ongoing investigations, carry the meaning of encouraging the public to take to the streets and inciting illegal actions—the suspect did not block access to the tweets in question, and individuals seeking to access them could do so; therefore, the element of public dissemination has been established...”