MLSA - 13 September 2024 - The Constitutional Court of Turkey has ruled that journalist Çetin Yılmaz's right to a fair trial was violated in a case where he was sentenced to one year and six months in prison on charges of "terrorist propaganda." The sentence had been deferred, but the court found that Yılmaz was not given sufficient opportunity to present a defense. The ruling paves the way for a retrial.
Yılmaz, represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), was convicted on March 30, 2022, for his social media posts, which were cited as evidence of "terrorist propaganda." His sentence was deferred under the now-repealed "announcement of the verdict's deferral" (HAGB) provision, which allows courts to delay announcing a verdict under certain conditions. The MLSA took the case to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the proceedings violated Yılmaz’s rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial.
Background of the case
Yılmaz’s legal troubles began after a controversial "cyber patrol" operation, a practice that the Constitutional Court had previously ruled unconstitutional in 2020. The investigation leading to Yılmaz's conviction was launched based on social media posts allegedly made by him. However, the Constitutional Court found that the trial did not adequately investigate whether the posts belonged to Yılmaz, nor did it offer him sufficient opportunity to defend himself.
The court also pointed out that the law allowing police to gather evidence via "cyber patrols" had been struck down by the Constitutional Court, making the evidence used against Yılmaz legally questionable. In its ruling, the court referenced its previous decision to invalidate the HAGB provision, which it found lacked clear and effective safeguards for balancing conflicting interests and ensuring proper oversight in cases involving fundamental rights and freedoms.
The court concluded that the investigation and trial violated Yılmaz's constitutional rights, particularly the right to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 36 of Turkey’s Constitution and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Other violations were also raised in the appeal, including breaches of Yılmaz’s rights to privacy and freedom of expression, protected under Articles 13, 20, 25, 26, and 28 of the Constitution, as well as Article 10 of the ECHR.
Constitutional Court's ruling
The court determined that the legal provisions governing the deferral of verdicts did not provide adequate guarantees for a fair trial, citing its earlier ruling in the case of Atilla Yazar and others, which annulled parts of the relevant Criminal Procedure Code. The court ruled that this lack of oversight contributed to the violation of Yılmaz’s right to a fair trial.
The Constitutional Court annulled the original sentence and remanded the case to the lower court for a retrial. Should the local court decide to retry the case, Yılmaz will have the opportunity to be heard again under fairer conditions.
Timeline of events
On August 13, 2021, Çetin Yılmaz was arrested along with six others and held in custody for a week before being released under judicial control. The Manisa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently filed an indictment against him, accusing him of "making terrorist propaganda" through 13 social media posts between 2015 and 2020. In a hearing on March 30, 2022, the Manisa 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced him to one year, six months, and 22 days in prison but deferred the announcement of the sentence under the HAGB provision.
