- A total of 142 defendants appeared before judges this week in 14 monitored court cases listed on the judicial calendar. The week's only acquittal was handed down for 66 defendants standing trial in the Saraçhane case, which stems from protests centered on Istanbul's Saraçhane district.
- The main violations affecting the right to a fair trial observed during hearings included the exclusion of trial observers from courtrooms, threats against observers, inadequate courtroom capacity, technical problems with the Video Hearing System (SEGBİS), and police interventions.
- Journalists Abbas Vural, Hazar Dost, Kayhan Ayhan, Buse Söğütlü, and Ceren Erdoğdu were detained. All were later released, while lawyer Ezgi Önalan, who was detained as part of the same operation, was arrested pending trial.
- Prosecutors sought a prison sentence for Tuba Özlem Ulu over a stand-up comedy performance. In numerous other cases involving journalists, courts issued rulings on pretrial detention, judicial control measures, and postponements.
Throughout the week, a total of 142 defendants appeared before judges in 14 monitored court cases listed on the judicial calendar. Most of the cases involved journalists, while politicians, students, lawyers, and activists also delivered defense statements in court against charges related to the exercise of freedom of expression.
The week's only verdict on the merits came in the trial of 66 people, including Sendika.org reporter Zişan Gür, who were detained during protests in Istanbul's Saraçhane district. Istanbul's 26th Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted all defendants of the charge of "participating in an unlawful meeting or demonstration without carrying weapons and refusing to disperse despite warnings." Click here to full story.
During the hearing, the court temporarily suspended the defense statements after the Video Hearing System (SEGBİS) malfunctioned. Participants also experienced difficulty hearing the proceedings inside the courtroom.
Two separate hearings were held in the case against defendants including ETHA editor İsminaz Temel, former ETHA reporter Havva Cuştan, lawyer Sezin Uçar, and Özlem Gümüştaş. At the July 3 hearing before the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court, the court ordered the release of Meral Tatar, ruled that five witnesses be brought to court by compulsion, and maintained the defendants' bans on traveling abroad. Security personnel barred observers from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) and the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) from entering the courtroom corridor, while one P24 observer was threatened with the words, "I will find you." The case was adjourned until Dec. 8.
Prosecutors sought a conviction in the trial of comedian Tuba Özlem Ulu, who is charged with "inciting hatred and hostility among the public" over jokes about Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hürrem Sultan during a stand-up performance.
The male prosecutor requested a sentence over Ulu's use of the phrase, "Hürrem was Suleiman's f**k buddy. She pushed for marriage," referring to Suleiman the Magnificent, one of the Ottoman Empire's most prominent sultans, and his wife Hürrem Sultan. The prosecutor argued that the joke was "sexist," "demeaning to women," and a threat to public peace.
Although the defense requested additional time to prepare a response to the prosecutor's final opinion on the merits, the court granted only one week and adjourned the hearing until July 14.The hearing took place in a small, poorly ventilated courtroom, and observers noted that the judge addressed Ulu using the informal second-person singular pronoun, a form of address widely regarded in Turkish as less respectful in a courtroom setting.
The trial of T24 reporter Can Öztürk and 14 students, who are charged over a protest held at Boğaziçi University in 2021, was adjourned until Oct. 23 so that one defendant, who is studying abroad, can attend the next hearing. Öztürk, who was detained after a police officer grabbed him by the throat while he was covering the protest, appeared in court along with four other defendants. Their lawyers were absent after notifying the court that they had legitimate excuses for not attending.
In the case against jailed Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, campaign director Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ, and businessman Hüseyin Gün, who are charged with "political espionage," the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court ruled that all four defendants should remain in pretrial detention. The court also rejected a request to lift a trustee order imposed on the television broadcaster Tele1. After a hearing that lasted approximately eight hours, the case was adjourned until Sept. 29.
No final opinion on the merits was presented in the trial of journalist Timur Soykan, who is charged with "publicly disseminating misleading information" and "publicly inciting the commission of a crime" over social media posts about investigations targeting municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), after the prosecutor assigned to the case was replaced. The case file was returned to the prosecutor's office for the preparation of a final opinion, and the hearing was adjourned until Sept. 11.
In a civil lawsuit seeking 150,000 Turkish lira (about $3,700) in non-pecuniary damages against journalist Furkan Karabay, filed following a complaint by Antalya Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Yakup Ali Kahveci, the court ruled that it would await the final outcome of a related criminal case before proceeding. The hearing was adjourned until Feb. 10, 2027.
Separately, the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals overturned the sentence imposed on Karabay for "insulting the president" and "defamation," ruling that the punishment had been excessive.
Other developments this week
Niha+ reporter Abbas Vural was detained during a police raid on his home ahead of the NATO Leaders' Summit in Ankara. A confidentiality order remained in place on the investigation file, and his detention period was extended to four days. After being taken to the Kocaeli Courthouse on July 9, Vural was released under judicial control measures.
Journalist Hazar Dost was detained while shopping at a neighborhood greengrocer under a case alleging that he had participated in a 2018 protest. The case had previously ended in an acquittal but was sent back following an appeal. After giving a statement at the Küçükçekmece Courthouse in Istanbul, Dost was released.
BirGün reporter Kayhan Ayhan was detained during a late-night police raid on his home on charges of "publicly disseminating misleading information." During his police questioning, Ayhan was asked about his journalistic work, his coverage of court hearings, and his social media posts concerning the trial of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Prosecutors referred Ayhan to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace seeking his arrest without first taking his statement. The court instead ordered his release under judicial control measures, requiring him to report regularly to authorities and imposing a ban on international travel.
T24 foreign news editor Buse Söğütlü and Oda TV editor Ceren Erdoğdu, who were detained in operations carried out ahead of the NATO Leaders' Summit, were released under judicial control measures by the Criminal Judgeship of Peace. Lawyer Ezgi Önalan, the Istanbul branch chair of the Progressive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD), who was detained in the same operations, was arrested by the Istanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace pending trial.
