May 2nd, Tuesday
- The 27th hearing of the trial in which since shuttered Özgür Gündem daily’s former Co-Editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol, former Managing Editor Reyhan Çapan and columnists Hasan Başak and Kemal Yakut face “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “provoking to commit an offense” and “praising an offense and an offender” charges will be held in the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court, at 11.20. The indictment presents the news reports and articles in March 2016 in Özgür Gündem about “self-governance” in Kurdish provinces.
- The fifth hearing of the trial in which journalist Evrim Kepenek faces “insult” charge will be held in the Selçuk Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.45. 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 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 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.
May 3rd, Wednesday
- The 17th hearing of the trial in which 17 people, including journalists Eylem Sonbahar and Sema Karakurt whom MLSA represents in the court and journalist Metin Cihan face “prevention of public duty” charges will be held in the Antalya 25th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.20. The journalists were detained on November 15, 2015 while covering the G20 Summit protests in Antalya. In addition to “prevention of public duty” charges, four people face “insult” charges.
- The fourth hearing of the trial in which pop star Gülşen faces “openly inciting the public to hatred and hostility” charge will be held in the Istanbul 11th Criminal Court of First Instance. In the indictment, prosecutor Türkşad Kunthan Uçuk cites footage from Gülşen’s 30 April 2022 concert in which Gülşen jokes with one of her band members, as evidence against the pop star. In the cited footage, Gülşen is heard saying “He studied at an Imam Hatip [religious vocational school] and that’s where his perversion comes from.” Prosecutor Uçuk includes all the complaints filed against Gülşen over the Presidency's Communication Center (CİMER) and lists 702 complainants in the indictment. Referring to the concept of “social class” in Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, the prosecutor argues that “the concept of social class should not only be conceived as economic classes” and claims that since they have specific place in secondary education “there is no doubt that [students and alumni of] Imam-Hatip schools also constitute a social class.” Ignoring the fact the video of the April 30th concert began to be circulated on social media on 25 August 2022, the prosecutor further claims that the element of “clear and imminent danger to public security” as stipulated in Article 216 also exists in this case as “the video was shared by many accounts and groups with negative comments.” Pop star Gülşen was taken into police custody on 25 August 2022 and was subsequently arrested after providing her statement at the prosecutor’s office on the grounds that “judicial control measures will not be sufficient.” Gülşen spent three days in the Bakırköy Women’s Prison and was released to house arrest. Gülşen was kept under house arrest until 12 September 2022. At the first hearing of the trial held on 21 October 2022, the court rejected the requests for Gülşen’s immediate acquittal and decided to exempt Gülşen from attending further hearings and to continue the international travel ban imposed upon the pop star. Upon appeal by Gülşen’s lawyers against the continuation of the international travel ban, the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court ruled to remove the international travel ban on the condition that 250.000 Turkish Liras be deposited as assurance. At the second hearing of the trial held on 21 December 2022, the court accepted the intervention request of the Onder Imam Hatip Association but rejected the intervention request of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. The court also decided to send the case file to the prosecutor so that he can prepare his final opinion as to the accusations. At the third hearing of the trial held on 1 March 2023, prosecutor Şafak İnce presented his final opinion as to the accusations. Repeating the indictment, prosecutor İnce requested Gülşen to be sentenced for “openly inciting the public to hatred and hostility.”
- The seventh hearing of the trial in which author and poet Gökhan Yavuzel faces “publicly provoking the public to hatred and hostility” charges will be held in the Ankara 7th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.50. As evidence against Yavuzel, the prosecution presents a social media post Yavuzel had shared on his social media and which was picked up during a “cyber patrol” conducted by the police despite the 19 February 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 second hearing of the retrial in which journalist Zafer Arapkirli faces “insult” charges upon complaint by Nureddin Yıldız will be held in the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 13.30. 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 first hearing of the retrial which was scheduled for 31 January 2023 was adjourned as the courtroom was too small for those wishing to follow the hearing.
May 4th, Thursday
- The 22nd 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 09.40. 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 fourth 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 Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.00. 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 Istanbul 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. At the third hearing of the merged cases held on 31 January 2023, the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant issued against journalist Cihan.
- The fourth 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” charges upon complaint by prosecutor İ. K. will be held in the Van 2nd High Criminal Court, at 13.35. 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 ruling, 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. At the second hearing of the trial held on 31 January 2023, the court accepted the excuses submitted by the journalists and their lawyers and adjourned the trial. At the third hearing of the trial held on 25 April 2023, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusations. Arguing that Çelik and Yayla did not conduct themselves in a manner as a journalist should, the prosecutor requested them to be sentenced for “identifying public officials on anti-terror duties as targets.”
- The first hearing of the trial in which 14 people including Saturday Mothers/People and human rights defenders face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Küçükçekmece 1st Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.30. In the indictment filed by the Terror and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on 14 December 2022, the prosecutor presents 30 August 2022 press statement which Saturday Mothers/People attempted to make at the Altınşehir Cemetery of the Unnamed on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, as evidence for the charges. Presenting the ban decision of the Küçükçekmece District Governorate on August 30th, the prosecutor claims that the press statement was illegal and that Maside Ocak, Hüseyin Ocak, Ali Ocak, Besna Tosun, Hanım Tosun, Hasan Karakoç, Hanife Yıldız, Gülseren Yoleri, Hüseyin Aygül, Ferit Barut, Aynur Ergül, Derya Deniz, Hüsnü Alkan and Türkan Acar “insisted on not dispersing despite being warned” by the police. The prosecutor fails to mention that the Saturday Mothers/People were not allowed to disperse as they were trapped inside a so-called “security perimeter” by the police. In his four paragraphs long indictment, the prosecutor also fails to present any facts or evidence in favor of the Saturday Mothers/People including the testimonies of the Saturday Mothers/People taken while they were in police custody which lasted for almost 10 hours.
