Numerous court cases concerning journalists and freedom of expression are set to take place in Turkey during the week of March 4, 2025. Below is the schedule of key hearings:
March 4, 2025 (Tuesday)
- 09:00 – Sinan Aygül, president of the Bitlis Journalists Association, will be retried on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" in the case known as the "Bitlis KCK trial" at the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court.
- 09:10 – The 16th hearing in the case against journalist and writer Hayko Bağdat, represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), over allegations of "terrorist propaganda" due to his social media posts will be held at the Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court.
- 09:30 – The first hearing in a lawsuit seeking the dismissal of Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and board members over their statements regarding journalists killed in Syria will take place at the Istanbul 2nd Civil Court of First Instance.
- 09:30 – The trial against Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş, Seda Selek, Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker, and Kürşad Oğuz continues. Toktaş remains in custody, while prosecutors seek up to nine years in prison for Selek and Asker and up to 14 years for Pehlivan and Oğuz.
- 09:40 – The first hearing in journalist Onur Öncü's defamation case, filed by Özlem Doğan over Öncü’s social media posts, will be held at the Istanbul 29th Criminal Court of First Instance. MLSA is providing legal defense.
- 10:20 – The second hearing in Yeni Asya newspaper Editor-in-Chief Kazım Güleçyüz’s trial for "terrorist propaganda" will take place at the Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court.
- 11:00 – Journalists Osman Akın and Veysi Sarısözen will face trial at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court for "continuous terrorist propaganda."
- 11:00 – The second hearing in the case against Halk TV editor Dinçer Gökçe, Gazete Pencere editor Nilay Can, journalist Veysi Dündar, and lawyer İrem Çiçek over charges of "publicly spreading misleading information" will be held at the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The case stems from news reports regarding claims that a prosecutor who dismantled the "Yenidoğan gang" was removed from duty.
- 11:10 – Human rights defender Nimet Tanrıkulu, who remains in custody, will have his first hearing on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" at the Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court.
- 11:15 – The eighth hearing in the trial of Evrensel newspaper owner Kürşat Yılmaz and editor Görkem Kınacı, accused of "defamation" and "insult" following a complaint by Serhat Albayrak, vice chairman of Turkuvaz Media Group, will take place at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
- 11:45 – The second hearing in journalist Zeynep Ceren Kuray's trial for "terrorist propaganda," represented by MLSA, will be held at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.
March 5, 2025 (Wednesday)
- 11:55 – The trial of conscientious objector Ercan Aktaş, accused of "terrorist propaganda," will take place at the Bakırköy 2nd High Criminal Court. MLSA is providing legal defense.
March 6, 2025 (Thursday)
- 09:55 – The first hearing in the retrial of Yeni Yaşam newspaper journalist Hatice Şahin, who previously received a six-year, three-month prison sentence for "membership in a terrorist organization" before the verdict was overturned on appeal, will be held at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court.
- 10:10 – The fourth hearing in journalist Geşbun Ayşe Kara's retrial on "terrorist organization membership" charges will take place at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.
- 10:50 – A compensation lawsuit filed by MLSA's legal team on behalf of journalist Tuncay Özdamar following his detention will be heard at the Istanbul 1st High Criminal Court.
- 10:55 – The second hearing in journalist Furkan Karabay’s defamation case, filed by Bilal Erdoğan over a social media post, seeking 250,000 Turkish lira in damages, will be held at the Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance.
- 11:10 – Norwegian journalist Mads Nyborg Anneberg’s trial, related to allegations of "unauthorized entry into military zones" in 2021, will take place at the Edirne 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. MLSA is handling his defense.
- 09:30 – The case against the May 1st Neighborhood Festival will be heard at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court.
- 13:00 – Seven lawyers from the Contemporary Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD), arrested in 2019 for attempting to launch sky lanterns in Beşiktaş to raise awareness about hunger-striking colleagues in prison, will have their trial at the Istanbul 46th Criminal Court of First Instance.
