- In its application filed on behalf of journalist Sinan Aygül, the first journalist arrested under Article 217/A, the Legal Unit of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) argued that the arrest order issued under Article 217/A—which it says does not meet the requirement of legal certainty—violated that very requirement.
- In its application, MLSA argued that the offense of “publicly disseminating misleading information” does not include a regulation on how false information is to be determined, thereby creating an information monopoly for the administration and judiciary.
- Describing the regulation as vague and unpredictable, MLSA’s Legal Unit claimed that Sinan Aygül’s rights to liberty and security as well as to freedom of expression were violated.
- The application also states that compensation lawsuits filed over unlawful protection measures do not provide an effective remedy for violations of press and expression freedoms.
In the application submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on behalf of Sinan Aygül—who was the first journalist arrested under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), known publicly as the “censorship law”—MLSA argues that the provision fails to meet the criteria of legal certainty. The application is said to have the potential to set a legal precedent regarding the compatibility of the censorship law with ECHR standards.
Sinan Aygül became the first journalist arrested after the regulation passed
Journalist Sinan Aygül, who is represented by MLSA and serves as the head of the Bitlis Journalists Association, was the first journalist to be arrested after the censorship law entered into force in October 2022, following its publication in Turkey’s Official Gazette.
On December 13, 2022, Aygül shared a news report on his social media account regarding a sexual abuse case in the town of Tatvan. After the Governor’s Office released a statement, he deleted his post. Later that night, police officers raided his home, took him into custody, and he was then arrested on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information.” He was jailed on December 14 and released on December 22.
MLSA’s Legal Unit took Aygül’s case to the Constitutional Court, arguing that his rights to freedom of expression and of the press, as well as his right to liberty and security, had been violated. The Legal Unit also emphasized that the regulation passed in October 2022 was highly vague, asserting that such a criminal provision strips journalists of their professional discretion. The Constitutional Court rejected the application.
Aygül, the first to be arrested under the law, was acquitted by Court of Cassation ruling
Following his release, an indictment was filed against Aygül at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in Tatvan on the charge of “publicly disseminating misleading information.” At the end of the trial, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison. After an appeal was rejected, the case was taken to the Court of Cassation, which overturned the conviction, ruling that Aygül should have been acquitted.
In the retrial held by the Van Regional Court of Justice, Aygül was acquitted in 2024.
Censorship law has been a major topic in Turkey since October 2022
According to findings from MLSA’s February 2025 report titled Freedom of Expression Under the Shadow of the Censorship Law, a total of 4,590 investigations were launched under the law in its first two years of implementation. Between the date the law came into effect and February 2025, at least 93 investigations were opened against 65 journalists.
The report notes that the law has been applied most frequently in cases involving issues designated as “red zones” by public authorities, such as earthquakes, sexual abuse cases, and police violence. However, the report also finds that all of the cases brought against journalists have resulted in acquittals.
