February 21st, Tuesday
- The 21st hearing of the trial in which journalist Abdullah Kaya faces “membership in a terrorist organization” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges will be held in the Ağrı 2nd High Criminal Court, at 09.20. In the indictment, the footage Kaya had recorded at events he had covered in 2014-2015, social media posts he had shared on his personal account and anonymous witness statements are presented as evidence against the journalist. In addition to these, the prosecutor presents a photograph of Kaya which was taken at a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) event as evidence for the membership charge.
- The second hearing of the trial in which the Demokratik Modernite Magazine’s managing editor Ramazan Yurttapan and editor Haydar Ergül faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.45. The indictment presents some sentences in the article by Aysun Genç titled “Yeni Osmanlıcılık Türk Devletinin En Yozlaşmış Halidir [Neo-Ottomanism is the Most Corrupt Form of the Turkish State]” which was published in the 37th issue of the magazine as evidence for the charges. At the first hearing of the trial held 11 October 2022, the court decided to hear Selçuk Uçar who authored the article cited in the indictment as a witness and to file a criminal complaint against. The court had also decided to accept the intervention request of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the grounds that he might have been harmed by the alleged offense.
- The 20th hearing of the trial in which Azadiya Welat and Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspapers’ distributors Mikail Tunçdemir and Ferhat Duman face “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “willingly and knowingly aiding and abetting a terrorist organization” charges will be held in the Van 5th High Criminal Court, at 10.00. Tunçdemir and Duman stand trial due to news reports published in 2018 in the papers which they distributed. At the 19th hearing of the trial held on 22 December 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion. The prosecutor requested Tunçdemir and Duman to be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization”, “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies”, “damage to public property”, “committing offenses on behalf of the organization without belonging to its hierarchical structure” and “prevention of public duty.” The prosecutor also requested Duman to be sentenced for “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
- The fourth hearing of the trial in which journalist Evrim Kepenek faces “insult” charge will be held in the Selçuk Criminal Court of First Instance, at 12.00. The lawsuit is brought against Kepenek and 3 other defendants after Refik Y. who is alleged to have sexually abused his 6 years old child, filed a criminal complaint against Kepenek and other defendants claiming that his ”right to privacy” was violated and that he was ”insulted.” The indictment presents the news articles by Kepenek in which the journalist reported the abuse and the social media posts shared by the defendants. On June 21, 2022 at the second hearing of the trial, the court rejected the request of Refik Y.’s lawyer for journalist Kepenek to be subpoenaed and decided to wait for the finalization of the verdict in the trial against Refik Y. At the third hearing of the trial held on 1 November 2022, the court decided to give additional time for Kepenek’s lawyer to submit to the case file the other news reports on the subject.
February 22nd, Wednesday
- The second hearing of the trial in which 7 students with the Yurtsuzlar [Shelterless] Movement face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” and “prevention of public duty” charges will be held in the Ankara 37th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.25. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents the tent protests which the students wanted to hold in the Ilhan Erdost Park in Ankara on 20 September 2021 in order to draw attention to the housing problem many students deal with due to rising rents. In the indictment, a police officer who claims that one of the students “scratched” him and “kicked him in his abdomen while laying on the floor” is listed as a complainant. At the first hearing of the trial held on 1 November 2022, the court decided to issue a writ to the rectorates of the universities where the students are enrolled in, to ask about the administrative investigations initiated against them.
February 23rd, Thursday
- The first hearing of the trial in which the Co- Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Eren Keskin faces “identifying officials on anti-terror duties as targets” and “insulting a public official” charges will be held in the İzmir 18th High Criminal Court, at 09.05. The prosecutor cites a tweet shared on the social media account called “Deniz Poyraz Davası [Deniz Poyraz Case]” on 17 April 2022 and which was allegedly retweeted by Keskin as evidence for the charges. Even though he does not specify how and when Keskin shared the tweet in question, the prosecutor claims that by sharing the tweet in which it was stated “The prosecutor who failed to conduct an effective investigation so that the attack and the murder could be brought to light, who allowed the evidence to be spoiled and who prevented all those responsible to be brought to justice…”, Keskin openly insulted the complainant prosecutor C.U. because of his duties and requests Keskin to be sentenced for “insulting a public official because of his duties.” The prosecutor also claims that by sharing the tweet in which it was stated “... the prosecutor filed a lawsuit against Deniz Poyraz’s grieving father [Abdulillah Poyraz] over propaganda charges”, Keskin pointed complainant prosecutor C.U. as a target for terrorist organizations. Despite the fact that the indictment is against human rights defender Keskin, the prosecutor states that “It has been understood that Abdulillah Poyraz who identified the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau prosecutor assigned to the investigation file as target for terrorist organizations, has committed the offense of identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as a target.” The prosecutor includes this argument in the indictment against Keskin despite the fact that he states in the beginning of the indictment that Abdulillah Poyraz was charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and was acquitted in that case. The prosecutor who indicted human rights defender Keskin also separately indicted at least 40 people, including journalists Rabia Çetin and Nazlan Ertan, Sendika.org reporter Derya Saadet, the Executive Board Chair of the Human Rights Agenda Association (İHGD) Özlem Yılmaz, the District Executives of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), human rights defenders and lawyers with “identifying officials on anti-terror duties as targets (Article 6/1 of the Anti- Terror Law)” and “insulting a public official (Article 125/3a-4 of the Turkish Penal Code)” by using copy/pasted indictments. Both Özlem Yılmaz and Nazlan Ertan were acquitted at the first hearings of the trials brought against them.
- The first hearing of the trial in which journalist Derya Saadet faces “identifying officials on anti-terror duties as targets” and “insulting a public official” charges will be held in the İzmir 18th High Criminal Court, at 09.10. The prosecutor cites a tweet shared on the social media account called “Deniz Poyraz Davası [Deniz Poyraz Case]” on 17 April 2022 which was allegedly retweeted by Saadet as evidence for the charges. Even though he does not specify how and when Saadet shared the tweet in question, the prosecutor claims that by sharing the tweet in which it was stated “The prosecutor who failed to conduct an effective investigation so that the attack and the murder could be brought to light, who allowed the evidence to be spoiled and who prevented all those responsible to be brought to justice…”, Saadet openly insulted the complainant prosecutor C.U. because of his duties and requests Saadet to be sentenced for “insulting a public official because of his duties.” The prosecutor also claims that by sharing the tweet in which it was stated “... the prosecutor filed a lawsuit against Deniz Poyraz’s grieving father [Abdulillah Poyraz] over propaganda charges”, Saadet pointed complainant prosecutor C.U. as a target for terrorist organizations. Despite the fact that the indictment is against journalist Saadet, the prosecutor states that “It has been understood that Abdulillah Poyraz who identified the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau prosecutor assigned to the investigation file as target for terrorist organizations, has committed the offense of identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as a target.” The prosecutor includes this argument in the indictment against Saadet despite the fact that he states in the beginning of the indictment that Abdulillah Poyraz was charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and was acquitted in that case. The prosecutor who indicted journalist Saadet also separately indicted at least 40 people, including journalist Rabia Çetin, journalist Nazlan Ertan, the Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Eren Keskin, the Chair of the Human Rights Agenda Association (İHGD) Özlem Yılmaz the District Executives of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), human rights defenders and lawyers with “identifying officials on anti-terror duties as targets (Article 6/1 of the Anti- Terror Law)” and “insulting a public official (Article 125/3a-4 of the Turkish Penal Code)” by using copy/pasted indictments. Both Özlem Yılmaz and Nazlan Ertan were acquitted at the first hearings of the trials brought against them.
- The second hearing of the trial in which author Cafer Solgun faces “openly insulting a public official because of his duties” charge will be held in the Nazımiye Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.00. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents a tweet Solgun had shared on his personal account on 13 February 2022 and which the prosecutor claims to have been discovered upon complaint by the former Nazımiye District Governor Uğur Tutkan. In the cited tweet, Solgun criticized the photo shared on the official Twitter account of the Nazımiye District Governorate and in which Tutkan posed with armed individuals in front of the Düzgün Baba Djemhouse. At the first hearing of the trial held on 17 November 2022, Solgun’s lawyer revealed that the cited tweet was not in the case file. The court decided to issue a writ to the Nazımiye Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office so that the screenshot of the tweet can be submitted to the case file.
- The first hearing of the trial in which documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Ankara 26th High Criminal Court, at 11.45. The prosecutor claims that the criminal investigation against Tekin was initiated after the police were tipped off that someone was shooting footage in the dark. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents the footage which Tekin shot for her documentary titled “Karanlıkta Başlayan Hayat [The life which begins in darkness], other footage found in Tekin’s archive which was confiscated during a police raid to her house and the confiscated printed material as evidence against the filmmaker. Tekin was taken into police custody on 16 December 2022 and was arrested on 17 December over the suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization.” After being held in pre-trial detention for 44 days, Tekin was released on 30 January 2023.
February 24th, Friday
- The fifth hearing of the trial in which the President of the Ankara Branch of the Chamber of Architects Tezcan Karakuş Candan and 6 former members of the Executive Committee face “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Ankara 25th High Criminal Court, at 10.00. The indictment explains that the architects have been charged with a terrorism-related charge because they had awarded Jin TV reporter Güler Yıldız Bastion with the Emre Madra Press Award for her work on the destruction of nature, hydroelectric dams and mines. The prosecutor claims that Jin TV is among the media outlets which serve to disseminate PKK propaganda. The indictment presents the informational note by the Department of Combating Cyber Crimes which was prepared after the award became “a hot topic in national press and on social media” and social media posts by an account claimed to be belonging to Jin TV. The prosecutor also cites speeches and news articles by Güler Yıldız dating back to 2015 and 2016 even though she is not a defendant in the case. After the award ceremony picked up by media outlets close to the government, including the state-owned Anadolu Agency, the Chamber and the architects became the targets of an orchestrated smear campaign. The second hearing of the trial held on 15 September 2022 was adjourned as the court decided to wait for the digital material examination report to be submitted to the case file. At the third hearing of the trial held on 22 November 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations. Claiming that it has been that the defendants committed the offense they have been charged with, the prosecutor requested their imprisonment for “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
