- The first hearing of the case filed against detained journalist Alican Uludağ will be held on May 21 in Ankara.
Although his residence and the case file are in Ankara, it has been decided that Uludağ will attend the first hearing via SEGBİS without being brought out of Silivri Prison. - Uludağ stated that his right to a fair trial has been violated, saying: “My file was sent to Ankara, but I remained in Istanbul. I have been detained for 67 days. Can there be a trial without seeing the judge’s face?”
MLSA – The indictment prepared against detained journalist Alican Uludağ on charges of “publicly insulting the President,” “publicly disseminating misleading information,” and “publicly denigrating the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state” has been accepted.
Uludağ’s first hearing will be held on May 21 at the Ankara 57th Criminal Court of First Instance. The court ruled that Uludağ will attend the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from Silivri Prison, where he is being held.
Sending a message from Silivri Prison, Uludağ said that although his file was sent to Ankara, he continues to be held in Istanbul.
Uludağ said: “The court in Istanbul issued a decision of lack of jurisdiction for my file to be opened in Istanbul, thereby revealing that my detention process was unlawful and that the decision was made by an unauthorized prosecutor and judge. My file was sent to Ankara, but I remained in Istanbul.”
Stating that he is being held in exile, Uludağ said: “For 67 days, I have been in exile in Silivri Prison in Istanbul, 550 kilometers away from my home. Since February 26, I have been in a single-person cell. I submitted a petition to the Ministry of Justice to be transferred to Ankara; there is still no response. As if that were not enough, the court in Ankara decided that I would attend the hearing via SEGBİS from Silivri.”
Uludağ stated that he wants to make his defense in person before the court at the Ankara Courthouse and said the following:
“The court does not want me to make my defense before the court at the Ankara Courthouse, where I have worked as a reporter for 16 years. Why this secrecy? On February 20, I was brought before the prosecutor and the judgeship at the Çağlayan Courthouse in a way hidden from everyone and was arrested. Now, during the trial phase, a ‘secret defendant’ practice is being attempted.”
Stating that his right to a fair trial and defense has been violated, Uludağ said: “Can there be a trial without seeing the judge’s face? This practice must be ended.”
Uludağ also stated that the court decided to continue his detention, adding that one of the reasons for the decision was “risk of flight.” He responded to this reasoning as follows:
“The judge says there are ‘concrete facts’ regarding this. Which concrete fact? While I insist on returning to Ankara, the judge says ‘he might flee.’ There cannot be such a detention reasoning contrary to reality. If you release me, the place I will return to is the press room of the Ankara Courthouse to do journalism.”
What had happened?
Journalist Alican Uludağ was arrested on February 20 on the grounds of his social media posts.
In the indictment prepared against Uludağ, it was claimed that he committed the alleged offenses “in a chain-like manner,” and a prison sentence of up to 19 years, 4 months, and 15 days was requested. In the indictment, the only complainant is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
An indictment was prepared against Uludağ on charges of “publicly insulting the President,” “publicly disseminating misleading information,” and “publicly denigrating the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state.”
The investigation was initially conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The court issued a “lack of jurisdiction” decision and sent the file to Ankara on the grounds that Uludağ’s residence is in Ankara.
