Çiçek Tahaoğlu
June 13, 2024 - In a trial involving journalists and politicians, the court sentenced HDP member Münevver İlingi to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "membership in an organization" while acquitting the other 13 defendants. The cases of Jineoloji magazine employee Şeyma Kantarcı and HDP member Aysel Diler were separated due to other ongoing trials.
The 23rd hearing of the case, known publicly as the "KCK Academy" trial, took place on June 14 at Istanbul's 22nd High Criminal Court. Journalist Haydar Ergül, editor of the Democratic Modernity magazine, and former HDP members were among the defendants. Ergül and İlingi were present in the courtroom.
The hearing began with testimony from witness Ümit Akbıyık via SEGBİS (Audio and Visual Information System), who claimed to have heard that the magazine was published by an organization. The prosecutor reiterated the recommendation for the defendants to be punished for membership in an organization.
Ergül, denying familiarity with the witness, stated that the testimony was based on hearsay. He emphasized that Democratic Modernity operates legally: “I came as a peace group envoy in 1999, was tried, and these are known facts. The accusations against me do not reflect the truth.” Ergül's lawyer, Özcan Kılıç, noted that the voice recordings obtained through illegal surveillance did not match the defendants' voices. He submitted rulings from the Court of Cassation and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning the organization membership charges.
Attorney Ercan Kanar argued that the rights legally used by other parties are criminalized when used by Kurdish parties, claiming that such cases violate the constitution.
After a break, the court acquitted Haydar Ergül and the other 12 defendants. Münevver İlingi was convicted of organization membership. The files of Kantarcı and Diler were separated due to other ongoing trials.
Background on the Case
As part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 21 people, including members and executives of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), as well as journalist Ahmet Birsin and Jineoloji magazine employee Şeyma Kantarcı, were detained during house raids on July 28, 2017.
The indictment, prepared after Ergül and Kantarcı were also arrested, accused these individuals of "membership in the PKK." The charges related to a 2016 educational activity conducted by the DBP Political Academy in Bağcılar.
The indictment characterized concepts discussed at the DBP's Political Academy, such as stateless societies, the Neolithic period, totemism, shamanism, and Zoroastrianism, as "organizational ideology." Additionally, issues of Jineoloji magazine were cited as evidence.
References to entities such as the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the Association for the Assistance of Religious Scholars (DİAYDER), and the Kurdistan Women's Alliance (KJA), along with the "brother family" campaign, were included in the indictment.
During a hearing on June 21, 2022, at Istanbul's 22nd High Criminal Court, defense lawyers pointed to an expert report indicating that a voice recording attributed to Ergül did not match his voice. On October 27, 2022, the 16th hearing saw the case sent to the Prosecutor's Office for preparation of the final opinion.
The prosecutor’s final opinion, submitted on February 13, 2023, maintained that the voice recordings belonged to Ergül and other defendants despite the expert report. The prosecutor sought up to 255 years in prison for Eşref Yaşar, Mehmet Şah Güneş, Sedat Çaycı, Mevlüt Aykoç, Mehmet Şirin Aykol, Ahmet Sağınç, Ercan Doğru, Aygül Turhan, Mustafa Elma, Şeyma Kantarcı, İskender Karakoyun, Münevver İlingi, Hacı Aslan, Abdullah Geldi, Ahmet Birsin, Haydar Ergül, and Aysel Diler for "membership in the PKK."
In a hearing on May 31, 2023, the court decided to separate the file of journalist Ahmet Birsin, for whom an arrest warrant was issued, to avoid delaying the case.
