Court also dismisses TCK 301 allegation against Ahmet Güneş in line with decision by Justice Ministry

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The second hearing in the trial of Yeni Yaşam newspaper columnist Ahmet Güneş on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” over his social media posts was held at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court on 11 January 2024.

P24 monitored the hearing, where Güneş and his lawyer Meltem Özel were present.

Addressing the court for his defense statement following identification, Güneş said he was on trial because of several news items he shared on social media. “I am a journalist and columnist and I shared the posts in question as part of my duty to inform the public. I have not committed any crime,” Güneş said, requesting his acquittal.

Güneş’s lawyer Özel said she would deliver her statement following the prosecutor’s final opinion on the case.

Presenting their final opinion on the case, the prosecutor requested Güneş’s acquittal as the posts subject to the accusation did not contain the elements of the alleged offense.

Güneş’s lawyer Özel said: “The posts are not of a nature to constitute the crime of propaganda. They do not contain force or violence. I agree with the prosecutor’s final opinion and request the acquittal of my client.”

Ministry refuses to grant permission for investigation

The court ruled to acquit Güneş as the act subject to the accusation was not defined as a crime in the law.

A request to investigate and prosecute Güneş on the allegation of “publicly denigrating the State’s military and security forces” under Article 301/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) over the same social media posts had been filed with the Directorate General for Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice, which refused to grant permission for an investigation. In line with the Ministry of Justice decision, the court also ruled to dismiss this charge against Güneş on the grounds that the conditions for prosecution did not exist.