Journalist İnan Ketenciler, who was prosecuted for recording and sharing footage of violence by neighborhood watch officers, was acquitted in a retrial following a ruling by Turkey’s Constitutional Court that his rights had been violated.
The first hearing after the high court’s violation ruling was held at the Istanbul 55th Criminal Court of First Instance, a lower criminal court in Turkey’s largest city. The court complied with the Constitutional Court’s decision and ruled for Ketenciler’s acquittal.
Lower court had previously imposed sentence
Ketenciler had been on trial for filming neighborhood watch officers’ alleged mistreatment of a citizen on June 23, 2019, and sharing the footage on his social media account. He was initially charged with “unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data” over the publication of the images, and later with “recording audio and video.”
In its earlier ruling, the Istanbul 55th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Ketenciler under Article 286/1 of the Turkish Penal Code to one month in prison. The court converted the sentence into a judicial fine of 500 Turkish lira, corresponding to 25 days, and ruled to defer the announcement of the verdict — a legal mechanism known in Turkey as HAGB, under which a conviction is not formally entered if certain conditions are met.
Constitutional Court: Freedom of expression violated
Following the ruling, Ketenciler filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court, Turkey’s top court for reviewing alleged violations of fundamental rights. After examining the application, the court found that the journalist’s freedom of expression had been violated and ordered a retrial.
In line with the Constitutional Court’s violation ruling, the Istanbul 55th Criminal Court of First Instance reconsidered the case and acquitted Ketenciler.
The decision brings to a close a legal process that had lasted approximately six years, ending with a ruling confirming the journalist’s innocence.
