Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that journalist Neşe İdil’s right to a fair trial was violated in a case where she was sentenced to one year and three months in prison on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda. The decision came following an individual application by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), which represented İdil in the proceedings.
İdil, a journalist represented by MLSA’s Legal Unit, was convicted in 2023 by the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court over social media posts shared between 2015 and 2023. Prosecutors had claimed the posts amounted to propaganda for an armed terrorist organization. The posts included news-related content, some of which had been reshared from international news outlets.
In her defense statement during the first hearing on Nov. 16, 2023, İdil said she was a journalist and that the posts were news reports falling under the right to freedom of expression. She rejected the accusation of propaganda and demanded acquittal.
The MLSA Legal Unit, which also presented the defense statement, argued that the posts were journalistic in nature and should be protected under press and expression freedoms. They emphasized that İdil, acting as a public watchdog, had merely shared news reports and did not promote or endorse any group. In the second hearing on Feb. 20, 2024, MLSA again cited precedents from both the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights in support of İdil’s acquittal.
Despite these arguments, the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court sentenced İdil to one year and three months in prison for disseminating terrorist propaganda through publications. The court also decided to suspend the announcement of the verdict for a five-year probation period, a legal mechanism in Turkey that effectively postpones sentencing unless further legal infractions occur.
An appeal against the ruling was rejected by the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court, which deemed the verdict lawful and in line with legal procedures. MLSA then brought the case to the Constitutional Court.
In its evaluation, Turkey’s Constitutional Court grouped İdil’s application with similar cases under the Gökalp Bildirici and Others application. The top court ruled that due to the suspension of the verdict’s announcement, the judgment could not be effectively appealed. It found that the trial court had failed to adequately evaluate the defense statements and the merits of the prosecution’s claims, thus violating the right to a fair trial.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the violation warranted a retrial and sent the case back to the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court for renewed proceedings.
The case is one of many in Turkey where journalists have faced legal proceedings over social media activity, particularly those involving content deemed sensitive or political. Turkey remains under scrutiny by the Council of Europe and other international watchdogs for its record on press freedom and judicial independence.
