Ankara - Fourth hearing of the trial where 11 defendants including Artı TV Ankara correspondent Sibel Hürtaş and journalist Hayri Demir face “provoking the public to hatred and animosity” and “making terrorist propaganda” charges took place at Ankara 15th High Criminal Court today.
Hürtaş and Demir face these charges for their news reports and social media posts on Turkey’s military operation in Afrin. Journalists Hürtaş, Demir, and their defense lawyers were present in the courtroom. In addition to the journalists, defendant Bengü Aslı Bayramoğlu attended the hearing as well.
The court declared that Hayri Demir's post regarding a news story on unsolved murders from the 1990s may constitute a crime pursuant to Turkish Penal Code’s notorious Article 301, which bans denigrating the Turkish state and its institutions. The prosecutor requested to seek the Ministry of Justice’s permission in order to continue the prosecution pursuant to Article 301. The court accepted this request and put prosecution on hold. The court also ruled to go through with the proceedings in relation to other offenses specified in the indictment.
Hayri Demir: “That post was about an unsolved murder”
Following the Prosecutor’s request, journalist Hayri Demir took the floor. Demir stated that the post which the prosecutor wished to incriminate was from 2014 and that it stated, “Here are the state’s murders, the perpetrator is clear: first they profiled them, then they murdered them one by one.” Demir explained that this was a news story on unsolved murders he wrote for the Diyarbakır-based media outlet that he was working at at the time. Demir added that a lawsuit was filed against him at the time because of this news story. Demir added: “The news story was reporting on an official document from the Gendarmerie commanders from 1990s. I reported on how the people on this list had disappeared while they were under custody. I had met with their families and reported on them. I did not act with an intention to denigrate the state.”
Hayri Demir, Sibel Hürtaş and their lawyers requested the court for additional time to present a statement against the prosecutor’s final opinion. Lawyer Alişan Şahin noted that the Turkish Republic was established within the first Grand National Assembly, and that the official proceedings of this assembly includes the terms Lazistan and Kurdistan. Hence, Şahin argued that Article 301 should not considered relevant to this case. Şahin did not present a statement in relation to the “provoking the public to hatred and animosity” charge, further emphasizing that the prosecutor’s request to try Demir with Article 301 is unlawful.
Lawyer Nuray Özdoğan requested the court to take into consideration European Court of Human Rights’ decision on the Taner Akçam v. Turkey case in relation to Article 301.
Court seeks permission from Ministry of Justice
The panel of judges then concluded the hearing by declaring that social media posts of 7 defendants including journalist Hayri Demir possibly constitute a violation of Article 301. The court decided to seek the Ministry of Justice’s permission to continue prosecution pursuant to Article 301, ruling to request this permission in writing. The court ruled to put a hold on the prosecution until the Ministry responds to this request. The court ruled to go through with the proceedings in relation to other offenses specified in the indictment and decided that the file should be sent over to the prosecution for the final opinion following the Ministry’s response. The trial is adjourned until 3 July.
