The court ruled that the arrest warrants against the defendants should remain in force and that the judicial supervision measures imposed on the defendants subject to international travel ban should continue

The 34th hearing in the trial of 23 people, including ETHA editor İsminaz Temel and its former reporter Havva Cuştan, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda,” was held at the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court on 3 July 2026. P24 monitored the hearing.

The court ruled that the arrest warrants against the defendants should remain in force, that their sentences should be served, and that the judicial supervision measures imposed on the defendants subject to international travel ban should continue. The court also ordered the release of one imprisoned defendant.

Trial was adjourned until 8 December 2026

Background of the case

On 19 October 2017, police raids were carried out at 20 addresses, including those of journalists İsminaz Temel and Havva Cuştan, who worked for the Etkin News Agency (ETHA), and lawyers Özlem Gümüştaş and Sezin Uçar from the Law Office for the Oppressed (EHB), and that 16 people were detained. On 25 October, 13 people, including the journalists Cuştan and Temel, were imprisoned pending trial.

On 22 March 2018, the indictment filed against 23 people, 13 of whom were in pre-trial detention, was accepted. Press conferences and events that the journalists had attended for the purpose of news coverage were also cited as evidence for the charges against them.

The indictment, which included statements from anonymous witnesses, charged the 23 individuals with “membership in the [MLKP] armed terrorist organization” under Article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code and Article 5/1 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as well as “terrorism propaganda” under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

At the first hearing held on 17 July 2018, journalist Cuştan was released after nine months in detention. On 14 February 2019, a decision was made to release journalist Temel after 16 months in detention.