Journalism and freedom of expression trials: Week of June 12

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

June 12th, Monday

• The eighth hearing of “the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi” retrial in which journalists İhsan Yaşar, İshak Yasul, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Mizgin Fendik, Pınar Tarlak, Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Hicran Urun face “membership in a terrorist organization”, “printing or publishing the leaflets and declarations of terrorist organizations”, “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”, “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “praising an offense and offender” charges will be held in the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court, at 09.20. On its decision dated 5 March 2021, the 27th Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittals of Mizgin Fendik and Pınar Tarlak and the convictions of other journalists on the grounds that the sentences they received were “inadequate.” Presenting his final opinion at the hearing held on 7 April 2022, the prosecutor requested that Mizgin Fendik be acquitted; that Hicran Urun, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, İshak Yasul and Pınar Tarlak be sentenced for “membership in a terrorist organization”, “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “printing or publishing the leaflets and declarations of terrorist organizations.” At the fifth hearing of the trial held on 15 September 2022, the court decided to give additional time for Hicran Urun, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu ve İshak Yasul to defend themselves against “aiding and abetting and organization willingly and knowingly without belonging to its hierarchical structure.” At the sixth hearing of the trial held on 21 December 2022, the court decided to continue the international travel bans imposed upon three defendants and to ask for an expert’s opinion to determine whether “the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi daily carried out its activities for the benefit of the terrorist organization.” At the seventh hearing of the trial held on 22 March 2023, the court decided to continue the international travel bans imposed upon Urun, Yasul and Çelebi.
• The third hearing of the trial in which Mesopotamia News Agency reporter Ceylan Şahinli faces “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Ankara 20th High Criminal Court, at 10.40. In the indictment which was filed on 5 December 2022, the prosecutor presents three demonstrations in 2017 which he claims that Şahinli attended. Additionally, the prosecutor presents three 2017 retweets “discovered” in an “open source investigation” conducted by the police on a social media account allegedly belonging to Şahinli. Among the social media posts cited as evidence is also a tweet by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Meral Danış Beştaş. Similar to the indictment against human rights defender Aslı Saraç, the prosecutor also cites as evidence the press statement in Ankara organized on 11 May 2017 to commemorate Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu who was killed in Raqqa while fighting ISIS. The prosecutor who indicted Şahinli had also indicted prominent human rights defender Şebnem Korur Fincancı and documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin with terrorism charges. Şahinli and her lawyer did not attend the first hearing of the trial held on 7 March 2023. At the second hearing of the trial held on 24 April 2023, the court decided to ask for a copy of the indictment of the case in which Şahinli stands trial together with her 11 colleagues.

June 13th, Tuesday

• The eighth hearing of the SLAPP suit brought against former Cumhuriyet daily reporter Hazal Ocak by former Minister of Treasury and Finance and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak will be held in the Istanbul 33th Civil Court of First Instance, at 10.05. Ocak is sued for a news article published on Cumhuriyet daily on 20 January 2020 titled “Damat İşi Biliyor [Son-in-law knows the deal]” which revealed that Albayrak had purchased land on the Istanbul Canal Project route. The petition claims that Ocak’s reporting “twists the truth, is unrealistic and insulting” while also aiming to “defame Albayrak and slander his reputation.” Albayrak demands up to 200 thousand Turkish liras for non-material damages. At the sixth hearing of the trial held on 6 December 2022, the court had decided to wait for the finalization of the acquittal judgment handed down in the criminal lawsuit concerning the same news report.
• The first hearing of the trial in which Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Yakup Şimşek and Fevzi Yazıcı face “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court. Altan, Ilıcak, Şimşek and Yazıcı will stand re-trial after the Court of Cassation overturned their convictions.
• The third hearing of the trial in which journalist Baransel Ağca faces “illegally obtaining or giving data” charge will be held in the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.05. In the half-page indictment, the prosecutor presents  as evidence the social media posts in which Ağca had shared the autopsy and toxicology reports of Yeldana Kaharman who was found dead in her apartment in Elazığ on 28 March 2019 under suspicious circumstances. The prosecutor also claims that journalist Ağca had obtained the reports “by benefiting from the privileges derived from a profession or trade” and requests that the sentence which will be imposed upon Ağca be increased as per Article 137/1-b of the Turkish Penal Code. In the indictment, Yeldana Kaharman is listed as “the injured party.” Even though he is not listed in the indictment, the Elazığ 8th Criminal Court of First Instance listed Elazığ MP of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Zülfü Tolga Ağar as “complainant”  in the minutes of the preliminary proceedings. At the first hearing of the trial held on 13 September 2022, the court decided to issue writs for journalist Ağca and complainant Ağar to be brought to the next hearing.
• The fourth hearing of the trial in which journalists Canan Coşkun and Barış Pehlivan face “identifying public officials on anti-terrorism duties as targets” charge will be held in the Istanbul 34th High Criminal Court, at 09.40. The indictment filed on April 12, 2022 was prepared after the criminal complaint by the former presiding judge of the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court Akın Gürlek. The prosecutor presents the remarks of journalists Coşkun and Pehlivan in which they stated that the trial of the members of the Religious Scholars Solidarity Association (DIAYDER) is to be presided by judge Akın Gürlek who is known for his decisions in political trials. Citing the tweet Canan Coşkun had shared on her personal account on December 29,2021 and in which she had shared the news report she wrote about the details of the indictment of the DIAYDER Trial and the remarks of Barış Pehlivan on the December 12th and 30th broadcasts of Halk TV’s Açıkça show, the prosecutor claims that “by specifically emphasizing the Religious Scholars Solidarity Association (Diayder) which is considered to be closely affiliated with the PKK/KCK Armed Terrorist Organization and by exposing the case file of the trial in question,” Coşkun and Pehlivan “identified Akın Gürlek as a target for the PKK/KCK Armed Terrorist Organization.” Akın Gürlek who is listed as “victim” in this case, had tried journalist Canan Coşkun over the same charge when he was the presiding judge of the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court and had sentenced Coşkun to 2 years and 3 months in prison for “identifying public officials on anti-terrorism duties as targets.” At the first hearing held on 27 October 2022, Barış Pehlivan’s lawyer argued that presiding judge Zafer Taşkın was the one who ordered Pehlivan’s arrest in 2020 for which Pehlivan’s lawyer filed a complaint with the Council of Judges and Prosecutors which is still under review. Pehlivan’s lawyer requested the recusal of Taşkın on the grounds that there is hostility between his client and the presiding judge. Canan Coşkun’s lawyer requested that the case file of her client be separated on the grounds that there is no actual connection between the actions for which the journalists are tried. Arguing that there is no need for him to be recused, the presiding judge wrote his dissenting opinion in the minutes and decided to send the case file to an upper court so that the request for recusal can be evaluated. The presiding judge also decided for request for the separation of cases to be evaluated after the request of recusal is decided upon. At the second hearing of the trial held on 17 January 2023, it was learned that request for recusal was rejected by a higher court. The presiding judge decided to give 15 days for the defense to submit their written arguments and to send the case file to the prosecution for their final opinion after the defense’s arguments are submitted. Before the third hearing of the trial held on 9 May 2023, the prosecutor presented his final opinion and requested the journalists to be sentenced.
• The fourth hearing of the trial in which Charlie Hebdo’s general director Julien Serignac, editor in chief Gérard Biard, executive editor Laurent Sorurisseau and cartoonist Alice face “insulting the president” charge will be held in the Ankara 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.00. The indictment presents a cartoon published in Charlie Hebdo on October 28, 2020 as evidence against Serignac, Biard, Sorurisseau and Petit. Claiming that they insulted the president via the cartoon, the prosecutor requests imprisonment for Serignac, Biard, Sorurisseau and Petit up  to 4 years 8 months.
• The fifth hearing of the trial in which journalist Baransel Ağca faces “insulting the president” charge will be held in the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.15. The prosecutor presents two social media posts Ağca had shared on his personal account in 2016 and 2021 and which were “detected” after a criminal complaint filed by the lawyers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and during a “virtual patrol” carried out by the Prevention Bureau of the Department of Cyber Crimes of the İstanbul Provincial Security Directorate. Citing the social media posts which were gathered via “virtual patrol” despite the February 19, 2020 ruling of the Constitutional Court in which the Court revoked the law article which provided the police with the authority to conduct such investigations, the prosecutor claims that Ağca committed the offense he has been charged with “in a consecutive manner” and requests that sentence which may be given to Ağca be increased as per the Article 43 of Turkish Penal Code. At the third hearing of the trial held on 6 October 2022, the court decided to issue a writ so that Ağca’s statement can be taken via rogatory letters and decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued against the journalist.
• The 22nd hearing of the trial in which 23 defendants, including Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor İsminaz Temel, former ETHA reporter Havva Cuştan and the lawyers of the Law Firm of the Oppressed (EHB) face “membership in a terrorist organization” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges will be held in the İstanbul 27th High Criminal Court, at 13.30. The indictment presents the press conferences and events which the journalists covered as evidence against the journalists. After 16 months of pre-trial detention, Temel was released at the third hearing of the trial.

June 14th, Wednesday

• The seventh hearing of the trial in which Danish journalist Madds Anneberg whom MLSA represents in the court, faces “entering military zones” charge will be held in the Edirne 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.00. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents Anneberg’s being taken into custody by the military police at the Greece border on 3 March 2020 where he came to cover the pushback of refugees by Greece. The indictment which was filed on 13 March 2020 also charges two other Bulgarian journalists who were taken into custody together with Anneberg. On 13 October 2021, the court decided to separate the case file of Anneberg against whom an arrest warrant was issued.
• The fourth hearing of the retrial in which journalist Ferhat Parlak faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court, at 11.45. The evidence cited against Parlak is included only in the last page of the 18 page indictment filed on March 25, 2019. The prosecutor cites anonymous witness statements and a piece of paper found in the person of an alleged member of a terrorist organization and upon which “Ferhat Parlak: The Press Guy” was inscribed as evidence and argues that Parlak was “conducting journalism in line with the orders given to him.” The anonymous witness whose statements the prosecutor cites as evidence claims that he saw Ferhat Parlak “shooting a footage while also throwing a Molotov cocktail.” In 2019,  the trial of Parlak began after the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court accepted the indictment and Parlak was held in pre-trial detention for 15 months until the first hearing of the trial held on July 8, 2019. At the sentencing hearing of the trial held on December 7, 2020 the court ruled to dismiss the case on the grounds that the case is a repeating one. The court reasoned that the charges were similar to the charges leveled against Parlak in the case heard by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court and in which Parlak was eventually acquitted. Reviewing the separate appeals filed by Parlak’s lawyer and the prosecutor, the 2nd Penal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Appeals found the prosecution’s appeal to be valid and ruled to overturn the ruling of the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court on April 1, 2022. The appeals court sent the case file back to the first degree court and ordered that the incidents in the anonymous witness statements and any illegal activities Parlak might have had carried out as part of an illegal organization to be investigated. At the first hearing of the trial, the court decided to ask the Counter-Terrorism Bureau of the Diyarbakır police to investigate the incident mentioned in the anonymous witness statement against Parlak. The court had also decided to hear the anonymous witness between hearings and in the absence of Parlak and his lawyers.

June 15th, Thursday

• The sixth hearing of the trial in which Birgün daily Sports Editor Eren Tutel faces “insulting a public official” charge will be held in the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.05. The case was brought against Tutel who reported on the scandals at Turkey Wushu Federation (TWF) upon the complaint of TWF Deputy Chairman Abdurrahman Akyüz and his daughter Elif Akyüz. The prosecution demands up to two years imprisonment for Tutel. At the first hearing on September 30th, the court accepted the intervention requests by Abdurrahman Akyüz and Elif Akyüz arguing that “they might have been harmed by the crime committed.” At the second hearing held on February 1st, Abdurrahman Akyüz and Elif Akyüz’s lawyer requested that Tutel’s lawyer’s request for additional time be rejected and Tutel be sentenced immediately. On 24 May 2022, at the third hearing of the trial, the court decided to send the case file to the prosecution so that the final opinion as to the accusations can be prepared. On 17 November 2022, at the fourth hearing of the trial, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations and requested Tutel to be sentenced for “openly insulting public officials because of their duties” (on two accounts). The fifth hearing of the trial held on 14 February 2023, the court decided to take time to examine the case file.
• The first hearing of the trial in which Jin News Director Safiye Alağaş faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, at 10.40. In the indictment, the prosecutor cites the news articles written by the journalist, the language used in news articles published in Jin News, news visuals, news headlines and the agency’s editorial policy as evidence for the charge. Alağaş was arrested along with her 15 colleagues in Diyarbakır on 16 June 2022.
• The first hearing of the trial in which author-poet Gökhan Yavuzel whom MLSA represents in the court faces “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Şanlıurfa 5th High Criminal Court, at 11.50. The prosecutor presents “open source intelligence” report and some remarks from Yavuzel’s book Sahipsiz Şiirler as evidence for the charge.
• The third hearing of the trial in which 8 people who were taken into police custody during the Eskişehir 2022 Pride March face “defying the Law no.2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Eskişehir 4th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.00. In the indictment which was filed on 7 October 2022, the prosecutor presents the individuals’ attendance to the Pride March as well the slogans they chanted and the photos they took as evidence for the charges. The prosecutor also presents rainbow flags which he describes as “flags symbolizing LGBTİ” and the distribution of the flags as evidence for the charges. The first hearing of the trial held on 16 February 2023 was adjourned after most of the defendants and the judge submitted excuses due to February 6th earthquakes. At the second hearing of the trial held on 8 June 2023, the prosecutor requested acquittal for all defendants.  Prosecutor Ferhat Demirci had also indicted the 16 people who were taken into police custody violently during the Eskşehir 2021 Pride March. 16 people were acquitted at the second hearing of that trial.
• The third hearing of the trial in which human rights defender and designer Aslı Saraç faces “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Ankara 28th High Criminal Court, at 14.15. Despite the fact that Saraç observed numerous peaceful gatherings as the executive of the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association, the prosecutor presents Saraç’s attendance to a press statement in Ankara organized on 11 May 2017 to commemorate Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu who was killed in Raqqa while fighting ISIS, as evidence against the human rights defender. In the indictment which he filed on 4 October 2022, the prosecutor also presents six social media posts which Saraç had shared on her Facebook account in 2017 and which were “discovered” in an “open source investigation” conducted by the police after it was determined that Saraç attended the said press statement. Among the social media posts cited as evidence are also those which contained the photos of Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen who had carried out a long-winded protest on the Yüksel street after being expelled from their jobs via a state of emergency decree. The prosecutor who indicted Saraç had also indicted prominent human rights defender Şebnem Korur Fincancı and documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin with terrorism charges. The court held the first hearing of the trial in absentia on 20 January 2023 and postponed the hearing on the grounds that another case file which has many defendants in pre-trial detention has been assigned to the court. At the second hearing of the trial held on 6 March 2023, the court decided to ask for an expert’s report about the protest cited in the indictment.

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