In a significant development regarding press freedom in Turkey, the case involving the seizure of digital materials belonging to Delal Akyüz, a journalist with the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), has been brought before the Constitutional Court. The move, initiated by Akyüz's legal team, challenges the actions taken during her detention and the seizure of her journalistic materials as a disproportionate interference with press freedom.
Akyüz was one of six journalists arrested during raids on homes in Izmir on February 13. Following a four-day detention, they were released on February 16. The court imposed house arrest on Akyüz and three other journalists.
The application to the Constitutional Court, prepared by a legal team including the MLSA Legal Unit, highlighted that during police interrogation, questions were focused on Akyüz's journalistic activities. The application underlined that a confidentiality order was issued in the investigation, leaving Akyüz unaware of the accusations until the police interrogation. It emphasized that the 32 news stories she wrote, and various meetings and demonstrations she covered as part of her journalistic duties, were unjustly used as evidence against her.
The application also stressed the importance of protecting a journalist's sources, a cornerstone of press freedom, and argued that the seizure of computers, phones, and other journalistic tools used by Akyüz and her colleagues was a severe and disproportionate infringement of press freedom. This action, it was argued, creates a chilling effect on journalistic activities.
Furthermore, the application pointed to the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) precedent-setting decisions regarding the role of journalists and the protection of sources. The seizure of Akyüz's journalistic materials was claimed to hinder her from practicing her profession properly, constituting a disproportionate intervention against press freedom and violating both the public's right to information and Akyüz's freedom of the press.
The application to the Constitutional Court claimed violations of Akyüz's rights under Articles 25, 26, and 28 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of expression. It also highlighted a breach of Akyüz's right to respect for private life, as the raid on her home and the seizure and copying of her digital materials constituted a disproportionate interference with her right to privacy, protected under Article 20 of the Constitution and Article 8 of the ECHR.
The legal team has requested that the authorities recognize and rectify the violations against Akyüz.
Background of the case
On February 13, alongside Akyüz, journalists Cihan Başakçıoğlu from Gazete Duvar, Semra Turan, Tolga Güney from Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Melike Aydın from JINNEWS, and Fatma Funda Akbulut, a press worker for the DEM Party, were detained. After three days in custody at the Anti-Terror Branch of the Izmir Police Department, they were taken to the Peace Criminal Court on February 16, facing charges of "membership in an organization." Following their hearing, all six journalists were released, but Turan and Başakçıoğlu were required to sign in at a police station twice a week, and Akyüz, Güney, Aydın, and Akbulut were placed under electronic tagging.
