Trial news July 11, 2024
The case against İhsan Çaralan, a writer for Evrensel newspaper, was dismissed due to a five-year probation period expiration following a deferred announcement of the verdict in a previous trial.
The third hearing of the retrial for İhsan Çaralan, who was accused of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" for participating in the "Editor-in-Chief on Watch" campaign for the now-closed Özgür Gündem newspaper, was held at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court. Özgür Gündem was shut down by a decree during the state of emergency in Turkey.
Çaralan and his lawyer, Devrim Avcı Özkurt, were present during the hearing. The prosecutor's office requested the dismissal of the case, noting that the five-year probation period following the deferred announcement of the verdict from the previous trial had expired.
After a recess, the court ruled to dismiss the case against Çaralan due to the expiration of the probation period.
Background
The original case against İhsan Çaralan stemmed from his participation in the "Editor-in-Chief on Watch" campaign, a one-day solidarity event with Özgür Gündem. This newspaper faced numerous legal challenges and was eventually closed by decree. On April 3, 2019, Çaralan was sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison for "making propaganda for a terrorist organization." However, the court deferred the announcement of the verdict, placing him on a five-year probation period.
He was not sentenced for "openly inciting to commit a crime" and "praising crime and criminals" charges. Çaralan’s lawyers appealed to the Constitutional Court, which in July 2023 ruled that his trial violated his right to freedom of expression and sent the case back to the lower court for retrial.
The dismissal of the case was ultimately due to the completion of the five-year probation period.
