Rabia Çetin
A Turkish court has ruled to add an indictment previously denied by the judiciary’s top oversight body to the case file in the ongoing trial of journalist Barış Terkoğlu and retired military prosecutor Ahmet Zeki Üçok, who face charges of insulting public officials in connection with investigative news reports.
The hearing was held at a criminal court in Istanbul, where both defendants were present along with their lawyers, Enes Ermaner and Fuat Selvi. The session was also observed by Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Reiterating the opinion presented at earlier hearings, the prosecutor requested that both Terkoğlu and Üçok be convicted under Article 125/3-a of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes public insults against state officials in connection with their duties.
In an earlier hearing, the court had ordered the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), Turkey’s top judicial oversight body, to confirm whether there was any administrative investigation into Gökalp Kökçü, a former prosecutor named as a source in the articles at the heart of the case. The court received a written reply from HSK stating that “no such investigation exists.”
Üçok: HSK lied to the court
Challenging that statement, defendant Ahmet Zeki Üçok claimed in court that a formal indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office explicitly refers to an HSK investigation involving Kökçü. “We are facing an incredible situation—HSK gave the court a false response,” Üçok said. “This constitutes falsification of an official document and obstruction of justice. We did not expect false statements from HSK. I request that the indictment in question be added to the case file.”
Terkoğlu: I am concerned about equal treatment under the law
In his defense statement, Barış Terkoğlu raised concerns about whether the judiciary would treat both sides of the case equally. “The complainants in this file are former chief prosecutors of Istanbul. I know what the conditions in Turkey are. When I find myself up against a chief prosecutor, I worry whether the law will weigh us equally,” he said. “As someone who believes in the rule of law, I am deeply concerned. I’ve been dealing with this case for three years. All I did was uncover a statement made by Gökalp Kökçü to an inspector and report on it because I believed it had news value.”
Terkoğlu also criticized the court for not summoning Kökçü as a witness. “In this country, even neighbors are summoned to court over small disputes. Yet the defense had to obtain Kökçü’s statement themselves and submit it to the court,” he said.
Addressing the indictment against Kökçü, Terkoğlu added: “The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared a 17-page indictment. If I’ve made a mistake, it’s that I didn’t report more. I write based on documents. Did I write anything beyond what Kökçü himself said? Did I call anyone a thief or scoundrel? I didn’t even write full names—I referred to Muhammet Alçı as M.A. The real accusation came from Kökçü, but instead of questioning him, they’re prosecuting us. He’s not even listed as a witness. On one side you have powerful prosecutors, and on the other, a journalist and a retired officer. This scale of justice is not balanced.”
Court allows indictment into record, denies witness request—for now
Following the defense statements, the court ruled to formally request the indictment concerning former prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü from the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and to add it to the case file. However, the judge rejected the request to summon Kökçü as a witness at this stage of the proceedings.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 28, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.
Background to the case
The charges stem from investigative articles by Terkoğlu that cited a petition submitted by Gökalp Kökçü to the HSK. In it, Kökçü allegedly claimed that he was pressured by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Şaban Yılmaz, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Mehmet Yılmaz, and Istanbul Anadolu Chief Prosecutor İsmail Uçar to close certain investigations. Although Terkoğlu did not name Kökçü directly in the article, he reported on these claims in detail. The same reports also featured commentary from Ahmet Zeki Üçok.
On June 8, 2023, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment naming the three prosecutors as “victims” and charging Terkoğlu and Üçok with “publicly insulting a public official due to their position in a continuous manner” under Article 125/3-a of the Penal Code.
