Journalists, activists and artists face key court hearings across Turkey this week
A series of hearings involving journalists, activists and individuals prosecuted in cases related to freedom of expression are scheduled across Turkey during the week of June 15, 2026. Courts in the southeastern provinces of Batman, Diyarbakır and Mardin, as well as in Istanbul and other cities, are set to hear cases involving charges ranging from alleged membership in a banned organization to insulting the president and spreading misleading information.
Tuesday, June 16
At 9:05 a.m., journalist Abdurrahman Gök will appear before the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey in a case in which he is charged with membership in an organization. The proceedings had previously been postponed to address outstanding procedural issues.
At 10:00 a.m., journalists Öznur Değer and Osman Akın will appear before the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court. They are accused of targeting law enforcement officers, and the court is expected to hear their defense statements on the merits of the case.
Also at 10:50 a.m., the trial of Mads Nyborg, represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), will be heard at the Edirne 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in northwestern Turkey. Nyborg is charged with entering military restricted zones.
At 11:40 a.m., journalist Timur Soykan is scheduled to appear before the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The case stems from social media posts in which he shared news reports concerning operations targeting municipalities run by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Soykan faces charges of publicly disseminating misleading information and publicly inciting the commission of a crime. He was detained in connection with the investigation in 2025.
At 11:50 a.m., journalist Şerife Oruç will appear before the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey on charges of membership in an organization. At the previous hearing, the court postponed the proceedings to consider a request to merge the file with another case.
At noon, the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance will hear the case against activists Fadime Merve Erdem, Mücahit Özel, Sena Eliküçük, Mürrüvet Sena Eliküçük, Şeyma Yıldırım, Fatma Dilara Gezmişioğlu, Emre Tekinkaya and Çile Uğur. The defendants are being prosecuted over a protest during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the TRT World Forum, where demonstrators called for Turkey to halt trade with Israel. They are charged with participating unarmed in an unlawful assembly or march and failing to disperse despite warnings.
Wednesday, June 17
At 9:35 a.m., journalist İdris Yılmaz, who is represented by MLSA, will appear before the Erciş 1st Criminal Court of First Instance in eastern Turkey in an insult case.
At 10:00 a.m., the Istanbul 39th Criminal Court of First Instance will hear proceedings in a case widely known as the “Boycott Trial.” Twenty-one defendants, including actor Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, are charged with preventing a person from carrying out ordinary economic activity through discrimination and publicly inciting hatred and hostility through the press and media. The court postponed the previous hearing because some defendants had not yet been heard.
Thursday, June 18
At 10:00 a.m., the Küçükçekmece 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul will hear the case against Ercan Aktaş, who is represented by MLSA. He is charged with publicly denigrating the Turkish nation, the Republic, the state, and the state’s military and security institutions.
At 10:20 a.m., the Ağrı 2nd High Criminal Court in eastern Turkey will hear the case against Abdulhalik Kaya, also represented by MLSA. He is accused of making propaganda for a terrorist organization.
At 2:03 p.m., the Istanbul 27th Criminal Court of First Instance will hear the case against activist Yunus Kılıç, who participated in a pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by the group “A Thousand Youth for Palestine” in Istanbul’s Şişhane Square. Kılıç is charged with insulting the president. At the previous hearing, the court postponed the proceedings to allow the defense time to prepare responses to the prosecutor’s final opinion.
The hearings come amid continuing scrutiny of prosecutions involving journalists, activists and public figures in Turkey, where freedom of expression and assembly cases frequently draw attention from domestic and international rights organizations.
