Journalism and freedom of expression trials: Week of June 5

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

June 5th, Monday

• The 11th hearing of the trial in which the proprietor of the since-shuttered Azadiya Welat newspaper Ramazan Ölçen faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court, at 09.35. The indictment presents Ölçen’s proprietorship of Azadiya Welat and his possession of “illegal” publications as evidence against him. The prosecutor requests Ölçen to be sentenced to 15 years in prison. The hearing of the trial scheduled for 13 February 2023 was postponed due to the earthquakes on February 6th which affected many cities, including Diyarbakır.

June 6th, Tuesday

• The 13th 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 Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.50. 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 12 hearings, the court has been waiting for the return of the rogatory letters issued so that Sever’s statement can be taken abroad.
• The sixth hearing of the trial in which columnist and expelled sociologist Veli Saçılık faces “insulting a public official” charges (on two accounts) upon complaint by former Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahçeli will be held in the Ankara 30th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.10. The indictment filed on 14 April 2022 presents a tweet in which Saçılık quoted a news article about Süleyman Soylu and shared on his personal account on 12 January 2020 and a social media post about Devlet Bahçeli which prosecutor Mehmet Aykut Cihangir claims that Saçılık had shared on his personal account on 15 January 2020 as evidence against Saçılık. The prosecutor claims that the statement Saçılık had given at the prosecutor’s office was intended “to get away with the crime committed” and that via the social media posts “offended the honor and dignity” of Süleyman Soylu and Devlet Bahçeli. On 8 June 2022, at the first hearing of the trial, the court accepted the intervention request of Süleyman Soylu on the grounds that “he may have been harmed by the offense committed.” At the second hearing of the trial held on 8 November 2022, the court accepted the intervention request of Devlet Bahçeli on the grounds that “he may have been harmed by the offense committed.” At the third hearing of the trial held on 22 December 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations and requested Saçılık to be sentenced for the offenses he has been charged with. At the fifth hearing of the trial, the court decided to examine the Gamze Elvan and others judgment of the Constitutional Court. The prosecutor who prepared the indictment against Saçılık is the same prosecutor who indicted Öztürk Türkdoğan, the former Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) for “insulting a public official” upon complaint by Süleyman Soylu. The Ankara 60th Criminal Court of First Instance had eventually acquitted Türkdoğan on the grounds that “his actions cited as evidence for the charges are not defined as a crime in the law.” It was also revealed that via copy/paste indictments, the prosecutor brought separate lawsuits against former İHD Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan and former members of the central executive committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party among whom are also Veli Saçılık for “openly degrading the state of the Turkish Republic.”
• The sixth hearing of the trial in which journalist Evrim Kepenek faces “insult” charge will be held in the Selçuk Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.30. 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 alleged abuse and the social media posts shared by other 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 brought to the next hearing 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. At the fourth hearing held on 21 February 2022, the court decided to issue a writ to the Izmir 23th High Criminal Court to ask if the verdict in the trial of complainant Refik Y. is finalized. At the fifth hearing held on 2 May 2023, the court decided to issue a writ to the Izmir 23th High Criminal Court to ask if the verdict in the trial of complainant Refik Y. is finalized.
• The fourth hearing of the trial in which 16 people who were taken into custody before the February 3, 2022 “Freedom for the ill prisoners watch” in front of the Yenibosna Forensic Medicine Institute, called by the Solidarity with the Imprisoned Initiative face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Bakırköy 51st Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.35. Among the evidence cited against people, which the prosecutor describes as “those gathered in front of the institute to create pressure on the public” is the social media call shared on the Initiative’s accounts.
• The second hearing of the trial in which the ANKA News Agency’s Chief Editor Mansur Çelik faces “identifying public officials on counter-terrorism duties as targets” charge will be held in the Ankara 22th High Criminal Court, at 10.50. In the indictment filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 17 March 2020, the prosecutor presents a news article titled  “Türkiye Gündemine Damga Vuran Hakim [The judge who made the headlines in Turkey]” which was published on 14 October 2020, seven months after the official date of the indictment. Stating that a criminal investigation was launched after “an anonymous informant” filed a complaint, the prosecutor requests imprisonment of Çelik for up to three years. At the first hearing of the trial held on 21 February 2023, the court decided to continue the international travel ban imposed upon Çelik and rejected the request of Çelik’s lawyers for news articles about Akın Gürlek who is listed as “the injured party” in the indictment.
• The second hearing of the Büyükada Trial in which human rights defenders Taner Kılıç, Günal Kurşun, İdil Eser and Özlem Dalkıran faces terrorism-related charges will be held in the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court, at 14.00. 10 human rights defenders had been previously charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “willingly aiding and abetting a terrorist organization without belonging to hierarchical structure of the organization” for having attended a digital security meeting held in Büyükada, Istanbul in July 2017. The case file of Taner Kılıç who was arrested over the suspicion of “membership in FETÖ” in June 2017 was later merged with the trial of 10 human rights defenders. On 17 October 2022, the Court of Cassation’s 3rd Penal Chamber overturned the convictions in the Büyükada Trial. The Court of Cassation overturned the conviction of Kılıç on the grounds that the prison sentence imposed upon Kılıç was done so without adequate investigation. The Court of Cassation also ruled that Kurşun, Eser and Dalkıran should have been acquitted due to lack of evidence supporting the charges. At the first hearing of the trial held on 8 March 2023, the court decided to accept the ruling of the Court of Cassation and ordered an expert’s report to be prepared regarding the evidence against Kılıç.
• The 14th hearing of the trial in which the imprisoned former Co-Chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş faces “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Batman 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.00. The indictment was prepared by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Batman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2019. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents the impromptu rally of Selahattin Demirtaş during the Newroz celebrations which were planned to take place on 20 March 2016 but was banned by the Batman Governor’s Office as evidence against Demirtaş. In addition to the ban decision of the governor’s office, the prosecutor also presents the incidents which took place before Demirtaş came to the city and the slogans allegedly chanted during his speech as evidence against the politician and requests Demirtaş to be sentenced up to 3 years in prison for “organizing, leading illegal demonstrations and marches or taking part in illegal demonstrations and marches.” At the ninth hearing of the trial held on 18 October 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations and requested imprisonment of Demirtaş for up to 3 years. At the same hearing, Demirtaş provided his arguments against the final opinion and stated that the prosecutor offered no justification for his request for imprisonment.

June 7th, Wednesday

• The first hearing of the trial in which the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s former president Cihan Aydın and executive board members Muhlis Oğurgül, Ahmet Dağ, Erhan Aytekin, Fırat Üger, Gazal Bayram Koluman, Mehmet Akbaş, Serdar Çelebi, Tevfik Karahan, Ömer Şeran ve Özgür Yılmaz Biçen face  “degrading the Turkish Nation, State of the Turkish Republic, Turkish Grand National Assembly, the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial bodies of the State” charge will be held in the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court, at 09.00. The indictment lists the Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of Security and a lawyer as complainants. In the indictment, the prosecutor states that the Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of Security informed the Electronic Intelligence Bureau on 24 April 2020 and a lawyer contacted the Presidency's Communication Center (CIMER) on 27 April 2020 regarding the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s press release on the Armenian Genocide. In the indictment, it is stated that a criminal investigation was launched against the lawyers following a permission granted by the Ministry of Justice’s on 2 December 2021 and that the lawyers have been charged following a permission granted by the Ministry of Justice on 6 June 2022. Citing the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s press release titled “Soykırım Mağdurlarını Saygıyla Anıyoruz [We remember the genocide victims with respect]”, the prosecutor requests the imprisonment of the lawyers. Cihan Aydın and executive board members faced the same charge on a separate case which was brought against them on the grounds of the bar association’s 2019 press release about the Armenian Genocide and were acquitted at the first hearing of the trial held on 17 October 2022. Beginning from 2017, the Diyarbakır Bar Association has faced five criminal investigations and three lawsuits because of the association’s press releases about the Armenian Genocide.
• The second hearing of the trial in which the Association of Lawyers for Freedom İzmir Branch Executive Board Member Aryen Turan faces “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Izmir 18th High Criminal Court, at 10.00. In the indictment which was filed on 7 November 2022, the prosecutor presents some statements in the speech delivered by Turan on 22 October 2022 at the regular general assembly of the Izmir Bar Association. The prosecutor claims that Turan “willingly and knowingly helped the PKK/KCK terrorist organization by expressing the allegations of chemical weapon use and thereby calling for the military operations against the terrorist organization to be stopped” and requests Turan to be sentenced. Turan was taken into police custody on 3 November 2022 after a campaign by the pro-government media outlets. After being held in police custody for a day, Turan was released with judicial control measures imposed upon her. At the first hearing of the trial held on 16 February 2023, the prosecutor had left the courtroom while Turan was defending herself. At the same hearing, the court decided to remove the judicial control measures imposed upon Turan. The prosecutor who indicted Turan had also indicted more than 100 people by using copy/paste indictments, including journalist Nazlan Ertan.
• The ninth hearing of the trial in which 52 students of Boğaziçi University face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Assemblies and Demonstrations” and “deprivation of liberty” charges will be held in the Istanbul 49th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.10. The indictment presents the social media posts with the tag #bundansonrasıbizde and the slogans the students shouted as evidence against them. At the sixth hearing of the trial held on 4 July 2022, the court gave additional time for defense lawyers to submit their written arguments and their evidence to the case file and to have their witness ready at the next hearing. At the seventh hearing of the trial held on 12 December 2022, the court decided to send the case file to an expert so that the footage of the incident can be examined. At the eighth hearing of the trial held on 22 March 2023, the court decided to wait for the expert’s report to be prepared.
• The fifth 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 Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court, at 10.40. 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 Istanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace banning the 36th issue of the magazine and ordering it to be pulled off the shelves. On 18 May 2022, the Istanbul 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 Istanbul 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. At the third hearing of the trial held on 1 February 2023, the court decided to issue arrest warrants against Cihan Doğan and Nimet Sevim whose case files were merged and whose statements are yet to be taken.

June 8th, Thursday

• The second 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 09.35. 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. 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 eighth hearing of the retrial in which journalists Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Ünal Tanık, Yakup Çetin and Yetkin Yıldız face “aiding a terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court, at 10.00. The 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation had upheld the sentences of 17 out of 26 defendants and overturned sentences of 8 defendants. The court justified its decision to overturn the convictions based on the fact that there is insufficient evidence to prove that seven defendants (excluding Atilla Taş) are “members of the terrorist organization.” The court also overturned Atilla Taş’s conviction for “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member”, arguing that Taş’s actions constitute the elements of crimes of “insulting the president” and “denigrating the Turkish nation.” On 17 February, at the fourth hearing of the trial, the court had decided to separate the case file of musician and former Meydan daily columnist Atilla Taş on the grounds that there is no need to try him together with the rest and that all the evidence has been collected for other defendants. On 23 June 2022, at the fifth hearing of the trial, the court decided to remove the international travel ban imposed upon Çulhaoğlu. At the seventh hearing of the trial held on 7 February 2023, the court accepted the prosecution’s request and extended the investigation.
• The second 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 11.00. 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. At the first hearing of the trial held on 23 February 2023, the court decided to send the footage Tekin allegedly shot prior to her detention to an expert so that an expert’s report can be prepared.
• The fifth hearing of the trial in which the former Co-chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Öztürk Türkdoğan faces “openly degrading the state of the Republic of Turkey” charge will be held in the Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.30. The indictment filed on 30 December 2021 presents a press statement published on the association’s website on 24 April 2017 and which was titled “Adalet ve Hakikat İçin Ermeni Soykırımı’nın İnkârına Son! [End to the Armenian Genocide denial for justice and truth!]” In half of the eight-page indictment, the prosecutor refers to various articles of international covenants and to numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights which guarantee freedom of expression and argues that the press statement in question cannot be considered within the scope of this freedom. Referring to the Grand Chamber’s Perinçek v. Switzerland judgment, the prosecutor argues that “no nation or community can be accused of genocide for tragic events which took place before 1948” and claims that “the statements in question bring the Turkish nation and the state of the Turkish Republic under suspicion before history.” The prosecutor argues that “it is unthinkable for a civil society organization which has been established according to the Turkish law, to carry out activities against the interests of the Turkish Nation, the state of the Turkish Republic.” Claiming that “the statements in question openly degrade the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation before history and international community”, the prosecutor argues that these statements cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of expression and requests that Türkdoğan be sentenced for “openly degrading the state of the Republic of Turkey.” In the petition addressed to the Ministry of Justice for a permission to be granted for criminal investigation to be launched against Türkdoğan, the judge points out that even though the enquiry report prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office claims “openly degrading the Turkish nation and the Republic of Turkey”, the statements in question should be evaluated as “openly degrading the Republic of Turkey” and thus the permission for criminal investigation should be granted for this suspicion. The permission for criminal investigation was granted on 10 December 2021 by the Ministry. The prosecutor who prepared the indictment of this case had indicted Türkdoğan previously for “insulting a public official” upon complaint by the Minister of Internal Affairs Süleyman Soylu. In that indictment, the prosecutor had presented the press release of the association dated 29 June 2018. The Ankara 60th Criminal Court of First Instance which heard that case ruled to acquit Türkdoğan on the grounds that the elements of the offense Türkdoğan was charged with did not occur. The same prosecutor also indicted expelled sociologist and columnist Veli Saçılık for “insulting a public official (on two accounts)” upon complaint by the Minister of Internal Affairs Süleyman Soylu and the Chair of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahçeli. At the second hearing of the trial held on 2 Mart 2023, the Ankara 24th Criminal Court of First Instance decided to send the case file to the prosecutor so that he can prepare his final opinion as to the accusations.

June 9th, Friday

• The 10th hearing of the trial in which journalist Mehmet Baransu faces “insulting the president”, “insulting a public official”, “insult” and “calumny” charges will be held in the Istanbul 60th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.30. The indictment lists retired general Çetin Doğan as “complainant.” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the judges of the Istanbul Anadolu 4th High Criminal Court which heard “the Sledgehammer Coup Plot” Case are listed as “the injured party.” The indictment which was filed on 12 November 2019, presents the articles which Baransu wrote from prison and which were published in haberdar.com between 10 and 23 May 2016 as evidence for the charges. The prosecutor claims that Baransu insulted the president in his articles published on 11 and 13 May 2016; that he openly insulted and slandered Çetin Doğan in his articles published between 10 and 15 May 2016; that he insulted the judges because of their duties in his articles published between 15 and 23 May 2016. At the seventh hearing of the trial held on 30 September 2022, the court decided to send the case file to the prosecutor so that he can prepare his final opinion as to the accusations. At the eighth hearing of the trial held on 10 February 2023, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations and requested Baransu to be sentenced for “insulting the president”, “insulting a public official”, “insult” and “calumny.” At the ninth hearing of the trial held on 7 April 2023, the court decided ask the copy of the case file

*This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The work may be used and redistributed for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).