Several court hearings related to journalism and freedom of expression are scheduled in Turkey this week. Among them are cases against journalists, academics, and activists facing charges ranging from "terror propaganda" to "insulting the president" and "violating confidentiality."
March 11, 2025 – Tuesday
9:20 a.m. – The 15th hearing in the trial of artist Ferhat Tunç, who is accused of "terror propaganda" over his social media posts, will take place at the Istanbul 37th High Criminal Court.
9:25 a.m. – The second hearing in the case against academic Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör, who faces charges of "insulting the president" over social media posts, will be held at the Istanbul Anadolu 91st Criminal Court of First Instance.
9:50 a.m. – The 10th hearing in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan, accused of "insulting a public official" based on a complaint by former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, will take place at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:50 a.m. – The second hearing in the case against T24 journalist Asuman Aranca, who is charged with "violating confidentiality" over a report on the forensic expert opinion in the Sinan Ateş murder case, will be held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
11:50 a.m. – The first hearing in the trial of journalist Ayşenur Arslan, accused of "terror propaganda," will be held at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.
March 12, 2025 – Wednesday
10:10 a.m. – The 18th hearing in the case against photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan, who is facing charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terror propaganda," will be held at the Bursa 1st High Criminal Court. Erdoğan is represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
March 13, 2025 – Thursday
10:13 a.m. – The 8th hearing in the trial of seven organizers of the 2021 Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır, who are accused of violating Turkey's Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, will take place at the Diyarbakır 19th Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:20 a.m. – The 8th hearing in the trial of journalist Baransel Ağca, who is charged with "illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data" for publishing the autopsy report of journalism student Yeldana Kahraman, will be held at the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:25 a.m. – The 24th hearing in the case against journalist Rüstem Batum, who is facing charges of "publicly denigrating the military and security forces of the state" over comments made on İMC TV in 2015, will take place at the Istanbul 43rd Criminal Court of First Instance. MLSA is providing legal representation for Batum.
2:30 p.m. – The 28th hearing in the case against former editors-in-chief of Özgür Gündem newspaper, Hüseyin Aykol and Zana Bilir Kaya, as well as the paper’s former responsible news director İnan Kızılkaya and politician Hatip Dicle, who are charged under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, will be held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
March 14, 2025 – Friday
10:00 a.m. – The 14th hearing in the case of 44 individuals, including journalist Koray Kesik, who were detained during the 700th-week gathering of the Saturday Mothers/Human Rights activists in Galatasaray Square, will take place at the Istanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance. The defendants are charged with "participating in an unlawful meeting and refusing to disperse despite warnings." MLSA is representing Kesik.
