Journalist Hayko Bağdat is to defend himself against the additional “insulting the president” charge
On February 16th, the sixth hearing of the trial where journalist Hayko Bağdat whom MLSA represents in court, faces “insulting the president” and “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility” charges was held in the İstanbul 50th Criminal Court of First Instance. The court decided to issue writ for additional rogatory letters for journalist Hayko Bağdat to defend himself against the “insulting the president” charge in the merged case file.
Journalist Hayko Bağdat who lives abroad did not attend today’s hearing held in the 50th Criminal Court of First Instance at the Çağlayan Courthouse. Attorney Merve Kurhan of the MLSA Legal Team represented journalist Bağdat at the hearing.
Attorney Merve Kurhan was the first to take the floor and reiterated the statement submitted to the court before the hearing. Attorney Kurhan reminded the court about the European Court of Human Rights’s Vedat Şorli ruling in which the High Court found the Article 299 of the Turkish Criminal Code to be a source of violations and demanded that the wording and application of Article 299 of the TCC should be changed in line with the Convention. Considering the ECtHR ruling, attorney Kurhan continued, journalist Bağdat must be acquitted of the “insulting the president” charges.
Announcing its decision without taking a break, the court decided to wait for the return of rogatory letters. The court also decided to request additional rogatory letters to be issued so that the statement of journalist Bağdat can be taken against the “insulting the president” charge leveled against him in the merged case file. The trial is adjourned until June 1, 2022.