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Trials involving journalists, writers and academics in Turkey continued to draw attention during the week of June 15, 2026, as a number of freedom of expression cases remain before the courts.
New hearings are scheduled in several cases this week, while proceedings in others will continue following interim rulings issued at previous hearings.
On June 23,
09:00 – journalist Çağdaş Erdoğan will appear before the Bursa 1st High Criminal Court in northwestern Turkey. Erdoğan, whose defense is being supported by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), is on trial on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and terrorist propaganda.
10:00 – Journalist Furkan Karabay is also scheduled to appear in court on June 23. The hearing will take place at the Ankara 54th Criminal Court of First Instance. The case was initiated following a complaint by İrfan Fidan, a member of Turkey’s Constitutional Court. Karabay is charged with insulting a public official.
11:00 – journalist Evrim Deniz is due to appear before the Izmir 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in the western coastal city of Izmir. The case stems from a Bianet news report titled “A Gang Suspect Is Building a Police Station.” Deniz is charged with unlawfully obtaining and disseminating personal data.
11:40 – Against academic Aslı Aydemir is scheduled for June 23 at the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance. Aydemir was arrested after expressing support for reactions to an attack on the Istanbul office of the satirical magazine LeMan in the city’s Beyoğlu district. She is being tried on a charge of resisting a public official to prevent the performance of duty.
On June 24
14:15 – journalist Yıldız Tar and writer Halit İbrahim Elçi, both represented by MLSA, will appear before the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court on charges of membership in an armed terrorist organization. Tar was arrested on Feb. 21, 2025, as part of an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), a coalition of left-wing and pro-Kurdish political and civil society groups. Tar was released on May 30 after the court accepted the indictment.
On June 26
09:35 – journalist Öznur Değer is scheduled to appear before the Midyat 1st Criminal Court of First Instance in Midyat, a town in southeastern Turkey’s Mardin province. She is charged with insulting a public official. The case against Değer was opened on the basis of her activities at meetings, demonstrations and press statements she attended. The previous hearing was postponed after her lawyer submitted an excuse petition requesting a delay.
