The court, which immediately has rejected the requests for acquittal, ruled that the case file be sent to the prosecutor for the preparation of the final opinion

EYLEM SONBAHAR, ISTANBUL

The first hearing in the trial of 12 people, including journalists Bülent Kılıç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Gökhan Kam, Kurtuluş Arı, Ali Onur Tosun, Hayri Tunç, and Emre Orman, who were detained while covering the protest held upon the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, was held at the Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 24 October 2025. The defendants are charged with “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations.”

The hearing, which was monitored by P24, was held in the courtroom of the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court due to insufficient capacity in the original courtroom. The defendants and their lawyers were present at the hearing. A large number of people, including Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); Özgür Öğret, Turkey Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); and İzel Sezer, Member of the Executive Board of DİSK Basın-İş, attended the hearing.

After the judge read the indictment, journalist Hayri Tunç, in his defense, stated that whether the protest in Saraçhane was banned or not did not prevent him from practicing journalism, and he requested an acquittal.

Journalist Gökhan Kam, who said in his defense that he went to the scene out of journalistic instinct, stated, “I was not there as a protester; I did not shout any slogans or carry any banners. I am currently practicing journalism here in this courthouse with my colleagues behind me. I do not accept the charges against me; I demand my acquittal.”

Journalist Zeynep Kuray stated, “We have been working on the streets as journalists for years; we are known as journalists. They are claiming we are not journalists by cropping our photos. When people take to the streets, we go there as journalists to cover the events. First, they shut down my Twitter account, and then they shut me down. While in custody, they first told us we were free, but half an hour later, for some reason, they said we were under arrest. If everything is done by order, then why do you write ‘justice is the foundation of the state’ here? We are the usual suspects of every era. How can they not know I am a journalist? I have no life outside of my work. This is a conspiracy; I do not accept this accusation—neither on behalf of my friends nor on my own behalf. They cannot erase our work this way; I demand my acquittal.”

“This is a frame-up case”

Journalist Emre Orman in his defens statement said that this case is a “frame-up case.” Orman said, “We were there as journalists. Having our photos taken in a way that hides our equipment is a frame-up. I will not address the legitimacy of the protests, and I do not accept the charge pressed against me.”

Journalist Kurtuluş Arı also rejected the charges against him in his defense, saying, “I am a journalist, not an activist. I had a camera in my hand.”

AFP correspondent Yasin Akgül began his defense by noting that he has been working as a journalist for nearly 15 years. Akgül said, “I have never been taken into custody from my home in the morning, in front of my children, after any assignment. A photojournalist must be on the scene; images are captured on the scene. The photos we took are available in the system, and these images are distributed through agencies. The image the police captured was taken from a video; the entire video must be presented. They filmed the scene while I was chatting with my friend. Moreover, during the protest, we were walking at the front alongside the police," he said.

Following Akgül, NOW TV reporter Ali Onur Tosun began his defense. Tosun said, “We are being charged based on a single photograph. We were sent to pre-trial detention based on this photo where nothing is visible. What else could I have done there besides reporting with a microphone in my hand? That is all I have to say.”

Since photojournalist Bülent Kılıç’s defense had already been heard during a recess, he did not present his defense again. After the defendants’ statements, the lawyers’ statements were heard.

“The indictment lacks the location and date of the protest”

Lawyer Batıkan Erkoç stated, “Seven months have passed since the investigation began. Despite the charge of failing to disperse, if you look at the indictment, there is no mention of the location or date of the protest. An indictment of this nature is already contrary to the purpose of an indictment. There are investigation records in the file; there is no logic in conducting a trial without evidence to be debated.”

Gökhan Kam’s lawyer, Elif Ergin, said, “I consider it a burden to mount a defense against such an indictment. There are no personalized charges in the indictment, and there is no mention of the location or date. My client has been a journalist for years. The other defendant journalists are also trying to prove their status as journalists while their right to a fair trial is being violated. We reject the charges and demand an immediate acquittal.”

Akgül’s lawyer, Kemal Kumkumoğlu, also demanded an immediate acquittal: ”My client is being accused of being present while performing his duty and observing a social event on-site. If you look at the photo in the file, my client was photographed while looking at the camera because he already knew that police officer and was aware he was being filmed. For the people in this case, they were first told they were free, then an order came, and they were sent to pre-trial detention. Everyone must be able to do their job, and journalists must do theirs. For this reason, we demand an immediate acquittal."

Emre Orman’s lawyer, Kerem Karakurt, stated, “We are trying to prove our clients’ innocence based on baseless allegations,” and demanded an immediate acquittal.

Hayri Tunç’s lawyer, Arzuhan Halis, also stated that the legal elements of the alleged crime were not present and requested her client’s acquittal.

Rengin Geçen, one of Ali Onur Tosun’s lawyers, said, “We have presented all the evidence; if it still cannot be proven, they can tune in to NOW TV at 7:00 PM tonight and see for themselves.”

The judge wished to hear Kılıç’s statement as a matter of procedure. Upon taking the floor, Kılıç requested his acquittal.

The requests for immediate acquittal were rejected, and the hearing was postponed

The prosecutor requested that the case file be sent to the prosecution to prepare their final opinion on the case, and requested the court to reject the defense’s demands for acquittal.

The court rejected the requests for immediate acquittal, and decided to send the case file to the prosecutor to prepare their final opinion on the case. The trial was postponed until 27 November 2025.

Background of the Case

AFP photojournalist Yasin Akgül, who was covering the ongoing protests across the country following İmamoğlu’s arrest, NOW News reporter Ali Onur Tosun, photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, journalist Zeynep Kuray, journalist Hayri Tunç, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) photojournalist Kurtuluş Arı, and Bakırköy Municipality photojournalist Gökhan Kam were detained in Istanbul during police raids on their homes in the early morning hours of 24 March. Journalist Emre Orman, for whom a detention order had been issued, could not be detained because he was not at his residence.

Despite the Istanbul Governorate’s ban, the journalists—accused of participating in the protests—were brought before the court on 25 March after a one-day detention period. The prosecution referred the seven journalists to the criminal court of first instance, requesting their release under judicial control measures without taking their statements. After this information was conveyed to the families by law enforcement and security personnel, the prosecution changed its stance. The seven journalists were then referred to the court with a request for their imprisonment on charges of “violating the Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.”

Although the journalists proved with documents that they were present at the protest site for newsgathering purposes, they were arrested the same day pursuant to the court’s decision and sent to prison.

Following an appeal against the detention filed by their lawyers on 26 March, the journalists were released on 27 March.

Journalist Orman, who was not detained because he was not at his residence, went to the Istanbul Police Department with his lawyer on the morning of 27 March to give a statement. Orman was released after the proceedings.

In the indictment filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was requested that the journalists be punished for the crime of “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations.”

The first hearing in the trial, which includes 99 defendants, including the journalists and their lawyers, was held on 18 April 2025. The court decided to separate the cases of eight journalists and four lawyers and register them under a new case file.