EYLEM SONBAHAR
A court in eastern Turkey has postponed the retrial of journalist İdris Yılmaz until Sept. 3, following a decision by the Court of Cassation to overturn his prior conviction on charges of "insult."
The second hearing of the retrial was held at the Erciş 1st Criminal Court of First Instance, in the Erciş district of Van province, near Turkey’s border with Iran. Yılmaz, whose legal defense is being supported by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), joined the hearing remotely via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from a courtroom at the Istanbul 47th Criminal Court of First Instance.
In his defense statement, Yılmaz said, "As journalists, we inform the public in the interest of the right to access news. I was on the ground for a news story when I was attacked by a police officer without any warning. Another police officer was recording the incident. If that footage is reviewed, it will show that I did not insult anyone; on the contrary, I was the one who was insulted. The footage I requested has not been brought before the court. I request acquittal."
Attorney Hazal Sümeli from MLSA's Legal Unit also requested that video footage of the incident be added to the case file, noting that they would present a detailed defense after the prosecutor’s final opinion on the merits of the case.
The court rejected the request to add the video footage to the case file. It also ruled to send the file to the prosecutor so that the final opinion on the merits could be prepared. The next hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 3.
