The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) has filed an individual application with Turkey’s Constitutional Court on behalf of journalist Ömer Sönmez, alleging he was subjected to police violence while covering a protest at Istanbul’s main courthouse two years ago, after exhausting all other legal remedies.
In the petition, MLSA argued that Sönmez was exposed to verbal and physical violence by police officers while reporting at the Çağlayan Courthouse — Istanbul’s largest judicial complex on the European side of the city — on April 3, 2024. The application claims violations of the prohibition of ill-treatment, freedom of expression and the press, the right to a fair trial, and the right to an effective remedy under both Turkey’s Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
According to the filing, Sönmez was at the courthouse to cover protests that erupted after the election certificate of Abdullah Zeydan, the mayor of the eastern province of Van Metropolitan Municipality, was annulled following local elections. Despite wearing a press card around his neck and holding a microphone, Sönmez was allegedly pinned against a door by police, thrown to the ground, and forcibly removed from the area.
The petition states that he was prevented from filming, was intervened against during a live broadcast, and was subjected to insults. It also says a police chief told Sönmez and his cameraman they could not record because they did not hold the “turkuvaz” press card issued by Turkey’s Directorate of Communications under the presidency. Sönmez reportedly presented press cards issued by the Journalists’ Union of Turkey and Rudaw, a Kurdish media outlet. During the intervention, his microphone was damaged and he had to pay for its repair.
MLSA said Sönmez suffered both physical and psychological harm as a result of what it described as verbal and physical violence by police. An eight-page medical evaluation report prepared by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) on May 21, 2025, was submitted as evidence. The report included assessments regarding the physical and psychological violence Sönmez said he experienced.
Sönmez filed a criminal complaint with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on May 28, 2024. Prosecutors sought authorization to investigate the chief superintendent on duty, but the Şişli District Governor’s Office denied permission. An appeal against that decision was definitively rejected by the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court on July 2, 2025.
On May 29, 2024, Sönmez also applied to the Interior Ministry seeking pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. After receiving no compensation, he filed a lawsuit with an administrative court. On Sept. 15, 2025, the Istanbul 2nd Administrative Court rejected his claims for material and moral damages, stating that expert reports found no footage demonstrating verbal, physical, or psychological violence and that the submitted medical evaluation report could not be relied upon. His appeal was definitively rejected on Jan. 27, 2026.
In its application to the Constitutional Court, MLSA argued that the proceedings violated Article 17 of the Turkish Constitution and Article 3 of the ECHR, which prohibit ill-treatment; Articles 25, 26 and 28 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the ECHR, which safeguard freedom of expression and the press; Article 36 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the ECHR on the right to a fair trial; and Article 40 of the Constitution and Article 13 of the ECHR on the right to an effective remedy.
The applicant requested that the Constitutional Court find that these rights had been violated.
