Photo: Batu Bozkürk
- Journalist Alican Uludağ, who is being held in Marmara Prison in Silivri on the outskirts of Istanbul, said a court decided to continue his detention without taking his defense statement during a review held on the 26th day of his arrest.
- Uludağ said he attended the review at the Istanbul 6th Criminal Judgeship of Peace via SEGBİS, Turkey’s audio-visual court system, but was not given the opportunity to present his objections.
- “A decision made without taking my defense statement is contrary to the law and the right to a fair trial,” he said.
MLSA - In a message sent from prison, Uludağ described the monthly detention review held on March 17. He said he was connected to the hearing along with many other detainees at the same time, and that the judge read out names one by one while issuing decisions on their detention status.
When his name was called, Uludağ said, the judge ruled to continue his detention without hearing from him.
“While I was waiting for the judge on duty to give me the floor, he suddenly started reading names and said ‘continuation of detention.’ He included my name and issued the decision. I then took the floor and objected, but the decision had already been made without my defense statement,” Uludağ said.
He also recounted a brief exchange with the judge, saying the judge told him: “Submit your statements to the prosecutor in a written petition.” Uludağ said he responded, “As a court reporter, you needed to listen to me.”
According to Uludağ, the judge stated that there was no new development in the case file and that the prosecutor had issued an opinion in favor of continuing detention. Uludağ argued that his right to defense had nonetheless been violated.
“A decision made without taking my defense statement is against the law and the right to a fair trial,” he said.
Uludağ also referred to one of the social media posts cited as grounds for his detention, in which he used the phrase “a rotten judicial system,” saying that he had reassessed those words in light of what he has experienced.
Arguing that both his arrest and the latest review were unlawful, Uludağ said, “Fundamental rights are clearly being violated.”
Background
Uludağ was arrested by the Istanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace as part of an investigation on charges of “insulting the president.” He was referred to the court with a dispatch dated Feb. 20 and denied the accusations during his questioning.
He said he has worked as a courthouse reporter for 18 years and that his posts fall within the scope of journalism and criticism. “There is no insult directed at the president personally. There is criticism from a judicial reporter,” he said.
His lawyers, Tora Pekin, Abbas Yalçın and Akın Atalay, argued that the posts should be considered within the scope of freedom of expression. Lawyer Pekin said the elements of the alleged offense were not met and that the conditions required for arrest were absent.
Following the defense statements, the Istanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ruled for Uludağ’s arrest, after which he was sent to prison.
