A Turkish prosecutor has called for journalist Elif Akgül to be sentenced to prison on charges of "membership in an armed organization" in a trial linked to the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), a pro-Kurdish leftist civil platform in Turkey. Akgül appeared before the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court for the second hearing of the case.
The court granted time to the defense to prepare a response to the prosecution's final opinion and postponed the trial until Jan. 20, 2026. Akgül and her lawyer, Batıkan Erkoç, attended the hearing, which was also monitored by several press freedom groups, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu, the P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, and the Media and Law Studies Association.
Lawyer Erkoç criticized the prosecution for uploading its opinion to the National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP) just a few hours before the hearing, requesting additional time to respond. He also asked the court to lift Akgül’s travel ban, noting that she had to accept a prize awarded by the German Parliament online due to the restriction.
According to the prosecution, Akgül’s name appeared in digital materials seized from the HDK's Istanbul office, where she was referred to as a “reporter” and a “feminist.” The prosecutor argued that these references were evidence of her alleged membership in an outlawed organization and demanded she be convicted accordingly.
The court ruled to maintain the travel ban against Akgül and set the next hearing for Jan. 20, 2026.
Background
Akgül was detained on Feb. 18 during a police operation targeting the HDK and was subsequently arrested. The Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, publicly shared footage of the police operation on social media.
During the investigation, authorities questioned Akgül about intercepted phone calls from 2012 and open-source intelligence reports. The evidence included conversations she had with colleagues during May Day protests in 2013, in which she reportedly shared information as part of her journalistic work.
Out of 53 people detained in the same operation, 30 were formally arrested on Feb. 21. The indictment against Akgül was completed on April 24. However, the court initially returned the indictment to the prosecution, citing insufficient clarity regarding Akgül’s connection to another defendant, Mehmet Saltoğlu.
After the prosecutor appealed that decision, a higher court accepted the indictment without requiring further clarification, a process that took more than a month.
On June 2, the court released Akgül from pretrial detention, citing the length of time she had already spent in custody and the fact that most of the evidence had already been collected. However, it imposed a travel ban as a condition of her release.
