Journalism and freedom of expression trials: Week of January 30

This week, the hearings of several journalism and freedom of expression trials will be held. Below is the list of these hearings:

January 30th, Monday

• The sixth hearing of the trial in which 14 Boğaziçi University students face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Assemblies and Demonstrations”, “deprivation of liberty” and “hijacking or seizure of transport vehicles” charges will be held in the İstanbul 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.30. The students were detained on 4 October 2021 while protesting against the appointment of yet another rector to their universities. Two of the students, Caner Perit Özen and Ersin Berke Gök, were arrested on 6 October 2021 and were held in pre-trial detention until the first hearing of the trial held on 7 January 2022. Mehmet Naci İnci who was appointed as the rector after Melih Bulu is listed as the injured party in the indictment while three security guards are listed as the complainants. One of the security guards was also heard as a witness in the trial, where seven Boğaziçi University students face “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” charges because of a protest exhibition organized against the appointment of Melih Bulu as the rector. The third hearing of the trial, which was supposed to be held on 23 March 2022 was adjourned because the judge left the courtroom. On 27 June 2022, at the fourth hearing of the trial, the judge refused to let lawyer Ömer Kavili into the courtroom and had the doors of the courtroom locked. At the previous hearing, lawyer Kavili had been removed from the courtroom. At the fourth hearing of the trial, the judge also decided to remove the judicial control measures imposed upon the students. At the fifth hearing of the trial held on 14 November 2022, the court rejected the requests of the defense lawyers for the court to send the evidence cited against the students to experts so that it can be determined if they were doctored. The prosecutor requested the court to issue a writ so that it can be determined whether the complainant security guards are public officials. Accepting the request of the prosecutor, the court also decided to send the case file to the prosecutor so that he can prepare his final opinion as to the accusations.

January 31st, Tuesday

• The third hearing of the trial in which journalist Metin Cihan faces “insulting a public official” charge upon complaint by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak will be held in the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.05. The indictment presents a tweet which Cihan had shared on his personal account on 30 April 2020. In the cited tweet, Cihan criticized that at the time when Albayrak’s emails were leaked in 2016, Albayrak’s purchasing of a vibrating sex ring was talked about more than the proof of corruption which the mails contained. In his one-page indictment, the prosecutor emphasizes that Albayrak was the Minister of Treasury and Finance at the time and Cihan had insulted him “because of his duties as a public official.” On April 28 2022, at the first hearing of the trial also known in the public as “the Vibrating Ring Trial”, the court decided to accept the intervention request of Berat Albayrak and to issue an arrest warrant against journalist Cihan. At the second hearing of the trial held on 18 October 2022, it was revealed that “the Vibrating Ring Trial” was merged by the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance on 14 October 2022. In the indictment of the new case dated 7 October 2022, the prosecutor presents a tweet which Cihan had shared on his personal account on 28 April 2020. In the indictment, it is stated that following the complaint of Berat Albayrak, the police detected the cited tweet during “a virtual patrol” despite the fact that on 19 February 2020, the Constitutional Court revoked the relevant law article which granted the police the authority to conduct such an investigation.
• The second hearing of the retrial in which since-shuttered Azadiya Welat daily’s former editor-in-chief İsmail Çoban faces “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, at 10.20.The indictment which was prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was filed on 19 February 2015. The indictment presents news articles published on Azadiya Welat daily between 4 September - 30 September and 1 October- 21 October 2014 as evidence for the charge. Arguing that “despite numerous lawsuits brought against the daily and its former chief editors, the daily did not change its editorial policy and therefore continued acting like the [terrorist] organization’s press and thereby continued committing crimes,” the prosecutor requested that Çoban be sentenced. Beginning to hear the case in 2015, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court sentenced Çoban to 1 year 8 months and 25 days in prison for “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and deferred the announcement of the verdict. Another lawsuit was brought against Çoban in 2021 after allegedly banned copies of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi daily were found on his person during a search at the Tarsus Prison, where Çoban was held in pre-trial detention in connection with another investigation. The Tarsus 8th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Çoban to 2 years in prison for “conveying prohibited items to a prison or place of arrest.” After the finalization of the verdict, the Tarsus 8th Criminal Court of First Instance notified the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. Reasoning that Çoban had committed an offense during the time in which the verdict for the propaganda charge was deferred, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court decided to retry Çoban. At the first hearing of the trial held on 29 November 2022, the court decided to ask the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about the date when the newspapers cited as evidence for the charges were delivered to the prosecutor’s office.
• The first hearing of the retrial in which journalist Zafer Arapkirli faces “insult” charge upon complaint by Nureddin Yıldız will be held in the İstanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.30. In the indictment which was filed on 1 January 2019, the prosecutor presents a tweet Arapkirli had shared on 7 September 2016 and in which he protested Nureddin Yıldız’s remarks who stated that “Boys and girls aged 6 or 7 can get married” as evidence for the charge. Journalist was acquitted at the first hearing of the case held in 2019.
• The second hearing of the trial in which the Mesopotamia News Agency’s proprietor and managing editor Ferhat Çelik and the proprietor of Jiyan News İdris Yayla face “disclosing or publishing the identities of public officials on anti-terror duties or identifying public officials on anti-terror duties as targets” charge upon complaint by prosecutor İ. K. will be held in the Van 2nd High Criminal Court, at 10.40. The indictment presents a news article titled “Gazetecilere gözaltı talimatını aynı savcı verdi [The same prosecutor ordered for the journalists to be taken into custody]” which was published on the website of the Mesopotamia News Agency on 8 October 2020, as evidence for the charges. In the cited news article, it was shared with the public that the prosecutor İ. K. who ordered journalists Adnan Bilen, Cemil Uğur, Şehriban Abi, Nazan Sala and former newspaper distributors Şükran Erdem, Mikail Tunçdemir and Fehim Çetiner to be taken into custody after Uğur’s news article broke the story of how villagers in Van’s Çatak district were tortured by the security forces and that Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut were thrown off from a helicopter by soldiers, was the same prosecutor who at that time led the criminal investigation against the soldiers who tortured Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut. Requesting that journalists Çelik and Yayla to be sentenced, in the indictment, the prosecutor claims that in addition to Jiyan News, the news article by the Mesopotamia News Agency was shared by other “press organizations which are supportive of the terrorist organization” and thereby prosecutor K. was identified as a target for the terrorist organization. Among the websites listed by the prosecutor as “press organizations which are supportive of the terrorist organization” and which also shared the news article are the websites of Evrensel daily, ArtıGerçek and the website of the Kocaeli MP of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu. In the indictment, the prosecutor gives 9 October 2020 as “the date of the offense” despite the fact that the news article in question was published on 8 October 2020. Prosecutor K. who had also indicted journalists Adnan Bilen, Cemil Uğur, Şehriban Abi, Zeynep Durgut and Nazan Sala in “the Helicopter Torture Case” in which all journalists were eventually acquitted, had referred the journalists Adnan Bilen, Cemil Uğur, Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala on 9 October 2020 to the Van 3rd Criminal Judgeship of Peace and requested them to be arrested. In its 18 January 2022 judgment, the Constitutional Court found that the detention of journalist Cemil Uğur who was arrested on 9 October 2020 together with his three colleagues, was unlawful and ruled that Uğur’s right to liberty and security was violated. At the first hearing of the trial held on 22 November 2022, the court decided to accept the intervention request of the complainant prosecutor and decided to issue a writ so that the period when the complainant prosecutor was assigned to the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office can be determined.
• The 12th hearing of the trial in which former President Abdullah Gül’s press advisor and journalist Ahmet Sever faces “insulting a public official” charge upon complaint by the Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank will be held in the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.45. The indictment presents the statements about Varan in the pages between 152-167 of Sever’s book İçimde Kalmasın/Tanıklığımdır published in 2018 as evidence against Sever. For the past 11 hearings, the court has been waiting for the return of the rogatory letters issued so that Sever’s statement can be taken.
• The 12th hearing of the trial in which former President Abdullah Gül’s press advisor and journalist Ahmet Sever faces “insulting a public official” charge upon complaint by the 29th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly Mustafa Şentop will be held in the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.50. The indictment presents the statements about Şentop in the pages between 208-210 of Sever’s book İçimde Kalmasın/Tanıklığımdır published in 2018 and in his article published in T24 titled “Ahmet Hakan, even I cannot save you” as evidence against Sever. The pages in question from the book contain a chapter titled “Who are the AKP members who said ‘we’ll imprison Gül and Davutoğlu?” The prosecution claims that Sever insulted Şentop “in a consecutive manner.” For the past 11 hearings, the court has been waiting for the return of the rogatory letters issued so that Sever’s statement can be taken.
• The 11th hearing of the trial in which former President Abdullah Gül’s press advisor and journalist Ahmet Sever faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.00. The indictment presents the statements about Recep Tayyip Erdopan in the pages between 12-243 of Sever’s book İçimde Kalmasın/Tanıklığımdır published in 2018. For the past 10 hearings, the court has been waiting for the return of the rogatory letters issued so that Sever’s statement can be taken.

February 1st, Wednesday

• The seventh hearing of the trial in which author and journalist Burhan Ekinci whom MLSA represents in court, faces “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in İstanbul 30th High Criminal Court, at 09.30. The indictment presents seven tweets which Ekinci had shared on his personal account and which the police “detected” during an “open source investigation” after Ekinci was reported to the police as evidence against the journalist. At the fifth hearing of the trial held on May 26, 2022 the court rejected the request by Ekinci’s lawyers for the court to issue a writ so that the defense of Ekinci can be taken via rogatory letters. The court ruled to reject the request on the grounds that “Germany does not accept such requests.”
• The sixth hearing of the retrial in which the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Central Council President Şebnem Korur Fincancı, RSF Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu and journalist Ahmet Nesin face “making propaganda for a terrorist organization”, “incitement to commit an offense” and “praising an offense and an offender” charges will be held in the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, at 10.00. Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Erol Önderoğlu are being retried at the “Özgür Gündem Solidarity Trial” after the 3rd Penal Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal verdict of three human rights defenders on November 2020. At the fifth hearing of the trial held on 19 October 2022, defense lawyers recused judge Murat Bircan on the grounds that he cannot be impartial. At the Gezi Case in which judge Bircan was also a member of the panel of judges, it was revealed that in 2018 Bircan tried to become a member of the parliament from the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). The court decided to send the case file to an upper court so that the requests for Bircan’s recusal can be decided upon.
• The third hearing of the trial in which the Demokratik Modernite Magazine’s Managing Editor Ramazan Yurttapan, Agos Daily Armenian Pages Editor Pakrat Estukyan, lawyer Emran Emekçi, Mehmet Nimet Sevim and Cihan Doğan face “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the İstanbul 30th High Criminal Court, at 10.20. The indictment presents the articles written by Estukyan, Emekçi, Sevim and Doğan and some sentences picked from the articles as evidence for the charges. The articles by three people who wrote for the magazine using pseudonyms are also cited in the indictment and the prosecutor argues that as per the Article 11 of the Press Law, Yurttan as the managing editor bears criminal liability for the statements in these articles as well. In addition to the articles, the prosecutor also cites the decision of the İstanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace banning the 36th issue of the magazine and ordering it to be pulled off the shelves. On May 18, 2022, the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court ruled to merge the case file of Yurttapan, Estukyan, Emekçi, Sevim and Doğan with the file of the case in which Ramazan Yurttapan faces the same charge because of the 37th issue of the magazine. The İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court reasoned that there is “legal and actual connection” between the case files. At the second hearing of the trial held on 28 September 2022, the court decided to exempt the defendants who provided their statements from attending future hearings.
• The seventh hearing of the trial in which journalists Hazal Ocak, Olcay Büyüktaş, İpek Özbey and Vedat Arık face “publishing the identities of state officials on anti-terror duty and/or identifying them as targets” and “violation of the privacy of personal life” charges will be held in the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court, at 10.30. The indictment presents a news report by Ocak titled “Boğaz’da Kaçak Var [Illegal Construction at the Bosphorus] and published in Cumhuriyet daily on 14 April 2020 as evidence for the charges. In the news report, Ocak had shared with the public that next to Turkish Presidency’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun’s home in Kuzguncuk, a pergola and a fireplace were constructed. The journalist documented that considering the fact that Altun’s home is located in the Boğaziçi Preview Zone, where construction is prohibited, these constructions by Altun were illegal. The prosecutor argues that “freedom of expression and dissemination of thought must at times be limited in order to protect the public and the state” and claims that Communications Director Altun must be considered as “having anti-terror duties and serving for this purpose considering his statements and activities against the terrorist organizations.” At the second hearing of the trial, the court accepted the intervention request by Fahrettin Altun. At the third hearing of the trial held on 24 June 2021, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations. The prosecutor argued that considering that there has been a 24-hour protection decision about Altun and that Altun has “statements and efforts against terrorist organizations”, it has been established that Altun has “duties and responsibilities in the fight against terrorism.” At the fifth hearing of the trial held on 31 March 2022, without providing any reason, the court rejected the requests by the journalists’ lawyers for the court to hear Altun in the courtroom and to issue a writ to the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that the role of Altun in the fight against terrorism can be determined. At the sixth hearing of the trial held on 27 September 2022, journalists’ lawyers requested the court to examine the file of the lawsuit brought against the Üsküdar District Chair of the Republican Peoples’ Party Suat Özçağdaş for allegedly taking photographs of Fahrettin Altun’s house and in which Özçağdaş was acquitted. The court rejected the requests on the grounds that “it would not contribute to the case.” The court decided to send the case file to the prosecutor so that he can prepare his final opinion as to the accusations.
• The appeals hearing of the 10 month prison sentence imposed upon journalist Alican Uludağ for “disclosing or publishing the identities of public officials on anti-terror duties or identifying public officials on anti-terror duties as targets” will be held in the 22nd Penal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals, at 11.00. On September 30, 2020, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted journalist Uludağ for “identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as targets” citing a tweet Uludağ had shared on his personal account. The social media post in question contained Uludağ’s criticism of former Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman who had visited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan immediately after getting married. In his criticism, Uludağ referred to the fact that Kocaman was the one who had the former Co-Chair of People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş re-arrested in defiance of the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights and wrote “This is how political opponents are arrested.” In the indictment, the prosecutor claimed that Uludağ “pointed Kocaman as a target for the members of the terrorist organization” with his tweet. On 2 December 2020, the first hearing of the trial was held in the Ankara 18th High Criminal Court. At the first hearing, Uludağ gave his defense and argued that the indictment was prepared with ill-intentions as the prosecutor kept the first tweet of the thread out of the indictment. On 3 February 2021, at the second hearing of the trial, the court sentenced Uludağ to 10 months in prison for “identifying public officials on anti-terror duties as targets.” The first hearing of the appeals held on 14 September 2022 was adjourned so that the prosecution can prepare its final opinion as to the accusations. At the second appeals hearing held on 23 November 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion. Arguing that the prison sentence imposed upon the journalist by the first instant court is lawful, the prosecutor requested Uludağ’s appeals to be rejected on merits.

February 2nd, Thursday

• The third hearing of the trial in which the former Diyarbakır MP and the Group Deputy Chairperson of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Çağlar Demirel faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 5th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.05. The indictment presents two speeches made by Demirel in 2016 as evidence for the charge. The prosecutor claims that Demirel “insulted the public in a way that offends the honor of the president” by saying “We do not accept his words and refer them back to him” during a speech on 29 May 2016 in which she referred to what Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said about HDP during a rally he held in Diyarbakır on May 28th. The prosecution also claims that Demirel “offended the honor of the president by suggesting that he was bending the knee and begging” by saying “The Palace is bending the knee before Russia and Israel and begging” during a speech on 1 July 2016. At the first hearing of the trial held on 28 June 2022, it was revealed that the court issued an arrest warrant against Demirel even though Demirel was not served the indictment. At that hearing, the court had decided to serve the indictment to Demirel physically and to remove the arrest warrant against her. The second hearing of the trial held on 20 December 2022 was postponed as Demirel could not attend the hearing due to health problems.
• The first hearing of the trial in which journalist and economist Mustafa Sönmez faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in İstanbul Anadolu 38th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.05. The prosecutor presents a tweet Sönmez had shared on his social media account on 24 October 2021 as evidence for the charge. Claiming that the tweet was discovered after the police was tipped-off that Sönmez was insulting the president via his social media, the prosecutor argues that the cited tweet cannot be considered within the context of freedom of thought and criticism and requests the journalist to be sentenced.
• The 15th hearing of the retrial in which since-shuttered Dicle News Agency’s former reporter Ramazan Akoğul faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court, at 10.20. Even though Akoğul was initially acquitted of all charges in 2018, an appeals court overturned his acquittal and sent the case file back to the local court for retrial. Akoğul is accused of attending a road-blocking demonstration which he covered as a reporter. The prosecution had appealed to the acquittal decision, claiming that the fact that the demonstrators did not intervene with Akoğul shows that he has some “trust relationship” with “the organization members” and thus he should be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization.” At the 13th hearing of the trial held on 15 November 2022, it was revealed that a criminal investigation was launched against Akoğul over charges of which he had been acquitted.
• The sixth hearing of the trial in which 7 women and LGBTİ+, including journalist Şeriban Alkış face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies”, “preventing the activities of a public institution” and “damage to public property” charges will be held in the İstanbul 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.50. The seven people were violently taken into police custody after they hung up a banner on the İstanbul Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Family and Labor in order to protest the government’s decision to withdraw from the İstanbul Convention. The prosecutor who cites the slogans about “women’s rights and femicide” as evidence also claims that the defendants damaged a public property as they “broke a decorative vase.” On 9 June 2022, at the fourth hearing of the trial, a journalist was heard as a witness of the defense. The witness stated that contrary to the claims in the indictment, it was the protestors who were battered by police officers. The witness also shared with the court that he saw two women being sexually harassed by police officers that day. At the fifth hearing of the trial held on 25 October 2022, the court decided to send the footage submitted by the defense lawyers to an expert so that it can be evaluated.
• The first hearing of the trial in which GazeteKadıköy weekly’s editor-in-chief Semra Çelebi whom MLSA represents in the court, faces “openly degrading the symbols of state sovereignty” charge will be held in the İstanbul Anadolu 10th Criminal Court of First Instance. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents a tweet Çelebi had shared on her personal account on 28 June 2020 as evidence for the charge. On 1 July 2022, the former Kadıköy District Chair of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Aydoğan Ahıakın reported journalist Çelebi to the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and requested that a criminal investigation to be launched against the journalist over “insult”, “inciting the public to hatred and hostility or degrading”, “openly degrading the military and the law enforcement of the state”, “hatred and discrimination”, “defying the Law on the Turkish flag” and “etc.” Requesting that Çelebi be prosecuted and sentenced, Ahıakın added his AKP membership card as an annex to the petition. On 21 August 2020, the prosecutor reviewing the petition, decided not to prosecute the journalist on the grounds that “there is no sufficient evidence to prove that the tweet in question referred to the Turkish flag.” On 21 October 2020, Ahıakın appealed against the prosecutor’s decision despite the fact he was not served the decision because he was not a party to the criminal investigation. Arguing that he should have been defined by the prosecutor’s office not as “an informer” but as “a complainant” as he was “injured” by the said tweet as a citizen, Ahıakın claimed that the prosecutor’s decision was “against procedure and the law” and requested that the decision of non-prosecution be annulled on the grounds that Çelebi “insulted the martyrs and the Turkish flag” by “considering the Turkish flag equal with LGBT flag” and that she continued “tweeting in a way which defended this insult and which showed no remorse.” The İstanbul Anadolu 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace accepted the appeal on the grounds that “informer Aydoğan Ahıakın’s appeal is in line with the procedure and the law.” Referring to the expression in the cited tweet, the judge reasoned that Çelebi implied a verse in the poem by Mithat Cemal Kuntay titled “On Beş Yılı Karşılarken [As we welcome the fifteenth year].” Arguing that “this poem was written for the martyrs and the Turkish flag and its verses cannot be used to refer to anyone else but the ones intended by the poet”, the judge ruled to annul the non-prosecution decision on 30 June 2022. Despite the fact the case file was opened on 9 December 2022, some media outlets close to the government reported on 16 August 2022 that “KadıköyGazetesi editor-in-chief Semra Çelebi will stand trial for insulting the Turkish flag.”
• The third hearing of the trial in which the Member of the Assembly of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Eren Erdem faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in the İstanbul Anadolu 63th Criminal First Instance, at 12.03. In the indictment which was filed on 2 August 2022, the prosecutor presents a tweet Erdem had shared on his personal account on 13 January 2021. The prosecutor claims that the tweet which Erdem shared with the hashtag Açlık=RTE [Hunger equals Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] and in which he criticized rising poverty, was discovered after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office. Ignoring the statement of Erdem in which he stated that the tweet was a political criticism, the prosecutor argues that the tweet “clearly constitutes an attack on the dignity and the honor of the President” and requests Erdem to be sentenced. The prosecutor who indicted Erdem had also indicted journalists Baransel Ağca (“insulting the president”), Mehmet Emin Kurnaz “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official”), Caner Taşpınar (“insulting a public official”), Görkem Kınacı, Uğur Koç and Uğur Şahin (“insulting a public official” and “calumny”) and Can Ataklı (“degrading a section of the public based on regional differences”). At the second hearing of Erdem’s trial held on 19 January 2023, the prosecutor requested Erdem to be sentenced and to be deprived of certain rights as per Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code which also stipulates political ban.

February 3rd, Friday

• The eighth hearing of the trial in which 35 people, including journalist Buse Söğütlü who had attended the March 8th Feminist Night March in 2020, face “defying the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations no. 2911”, “prevention of public duty” and “damage to public property” charges will be held in the İstanbul 58th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.30. At the first hearing, the court’s decided to send a copy of the indictment to the İstanbul Financial Office of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance on the grounds that it might be harmed by the crime committed. It caused a public reaction when the judge said “Men are getting killed too. Should we protest as well?, at the second hearing of the trial held on December 30th, 2021. On April 28 2022, at the fifth hearing of the trial, it was revealed that one of the crime scene reports which was cited as evidence in the indictment, was filled out by a police reporter who was not at the scene that day. At the sixth hearing of the trial held on 14 October 2022, the court decided to wait for the return of the case file from the expert who was instructed to prepare a report on the footage.
• The eighth hearing of the trial in which Koray Çağlayan, Volkan Uyar, Leman Yurtsever, Levent Gökçek, Lezgin Özalp, Maside Ocak, Mehmet Günel, Muhammed Emin Ekinci, Ayça Çevik, Besna Koç, Cafer Balcı, Can Danyal Aktaş, Cihan Oral Gülünay, Cüneyt Yılmaz, Deniz Koç, Ercan Süslü, Ezgi Çevik, Faruk Eren, Fecri Çalboğa, Ferhat Ergen, Gamze Elvan, Hakan Koç, Hasan Akbaba, Hasan Karakoç, Jiyan Tosun, Kenan Yıldızerler, Murat Akbaş, Rober Koptaş, Onur Yanardağ, Osman Akın, Özer Oymak, Özge Elvan, Ramazan Bayram, Rüşa Sabur, Sadettin Köse, Adil Can Ocak, Ahmet Karaca, Ahmet Süleyman Benli, Ali Ocak, Ali Yiğit Karaca, Atakan Taşbilek, Ataman Doğa Kıroğlu, Saime Sebla Arcan, Sinan Arslan, Ulaş Bedri Çelik and Koray Kesik whom MLSA represents in the court, face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Assemblies and Demonstrations” charge will be held in the  İstanbul 21st Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.00. The 46 defendants who were detained when the police attacked Saturday Mothers/People’s 700th Week gathering at Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square include members of the Saturday Mothers/People, human rights defenders and journalists who were covering the gathering. Saturday Mothers/People and their lawyers wanted to hold a press statement before the seventh hearing held on 21 September 2022 but were violently dispersed by the police. Numerous people, including defendants and their lawyers were taken into custody and thereby prevented from attending the hearing. At the same hearing, it was also seen that the judge hearing the case was changed. The court decided to wait for the completion of the case file.

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