The court has lifted Pehlevan’s weekly in-person reporting requirement as part of his judicial control measure, yet ordered that the travel ban remain in effect

The third hearing in the trial of Doğan Pehlevan, a cartoonist for the LeMan magazine, on charges of “insulting the president” over posts allegedly made from his social media account, was held at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance on 24 March 2026.

Pehlevan and his lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Repeating his previous statements, Pehlevan requested to be excused from attending future hearings.

Pehlevan’s lawyer, Samet Fidan, stated, “It is clear that my client did not commit the impugned crime. The judicial control measure imposed on my client is making his life difficult. We request the lifting of judicial supervision and his acquittal.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer, Melih Tüfenkçi, stated that the complaints remain valid and demanded that Pehlevan be punished.

The prosecutor, stating that the response received to the letter sent to the Cybercrime Department regarding an open-source investigation against Pehlevan was incorrect, requested that another letter be sent to the relevant institution. The prosecutor also requested that the judicial control measures against Pehlevan continue.

The court ruled that another letter be sent to the Cybercrime Department regarding the open-source investigation against Pehlevan. The court lifted the judicial control measure requiring Pehlevan to sign in once a week but ruled that the ban on leaving the country should remain in effect.

The court accepted Pehlevan’s request to be excused from attending hearings and postponed the case until 14 July 2026.

Background of the case

Cartoonist Doğan Pehlevan was detained on 30 June after a cartoon he published in the 26 June 2025 issue of LeMan magazine circulated on social media. Along with Pehlevan, the magazine's managing editor Zafer Aknar, editor Aslan Özdemir, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu, and facility manager Ali Yavuz were also detained during a police raid on their homes and taken to the police station.

While Pehlevan was in custody, the Cybercrime Department filed an investigation report. The report, dated 1 July 2025, stated that a post made on 1 July 2019, from an X account allegedly belonging to Pehlevan, with the username “@doganpehlevan,” was found to constitute “insulting the president.”

After being questioned by the prosecutor on 2 July, Pehlevan was referred to the duty magistrate's court with a request for his imprisonment on charges of “inciting the people to hatred and hostility” and “insulting the president.” Pehlevan was sent to pre-trial detention for both charges by decision of the İstanbul 5th Criminal Judgeship of Peace.

Two separate cases were opened against Pehlevan. The first hearing in the case opened on the charge of “insulting the president” was held on 11 November. Although Pehlevan said that the account from which the post in question was made did not belong to him, the court decided to continue his detention, “taking into account the current evidence.”

In the first hearing in the case filed for “inciting the people to hatred and hostility,” held on 14 November, a release decision was issued for Pehlevan.

Pehlevan was released pending trial at the end of the second hearing held in trial in which he is charged with “insulting the president” on 18 November 2025.