- An appeals court has overturned a 1 year, 8 months prison sentence handed to journalist Orhan Bursalı on charges of “unlawfully obtaining and disseminating personal data,” acquitting him on the grounds that he lacked criminal intent.
- The 26th Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Feb. 16, 2026, that Bursalı did not act with awareness of unlawfulness or criminal intent, reversing a lower court’s conviction.
MLSA - The case stemmed from a ruling by the Istanbul Anatolian 28th Criminal Court of First Instance, located on the Asian side of Turkey’s largest city, which on Feb. 7, 2025 sentenced Bursalı to 1 year, 8 months in prison. The court also ordered a suspension of the announcement of the verdict, a legal mechanism in Turkey known as HAGB, which allows a sentence to be withheld under certain conditions. Bursalı’s lawyer, Enes Ermaner, appealed the decision.
After reviewing the file, the 26th Criminal Chamber found no grounds to reject the appeal and proceeded to examine the merits of the case. Referring to established precedents of the 12th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, it emphasized that for the offense defined under Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) to be constituted, there must be both awareness of unlawfulness and criminal intent.
In its ruling, the court said Bursalı, a journalist, had shared on his social media account a residence permit belonging to a foreign national in order to warn the public about election security. The post included statements clarifying that the document in question was not an identification card and could not be used for voting.
Taking into account the content and manner of the post, the court determined that Bursalı acted with the intention of contributing to election security by warning and informing the public and election officials. It concluded that he did not act with awareness of unlawfulness and lacked criminal intent. The chamber therefore ruled that the alleged act was not defined as a crime under the law and acquitted him pursuant to Article 223/2-a of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK).
In a statement on social media, Ermaner said his client had been sentenced to prison due to his journalistic activities, but that the decision was overturned by a higher court following their appeal. He added that the court found the post had aimed to contribute to election security.
The case against Bursalı was initiated after he published a residence permit belonging to an individual on social media. Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes the unlawful transfer, dissemination or acquisition of personal data.
