Journalists, documentary filmmakers and political figures are scheduled to appear in courts across Turkey during the week of Oct. 19, facing charges ranging from insulting public officials and spreading propaganda for an organization to alleged membership in an organization and violations of laws governing public demonstrations.
The hearings will take place in Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakır, Tunceli and Görele, a district in Turkey’s northeastern Giresun province. Several cases involve journalists prosecuted over their social media posts, while others concern investigations into suspicious deaths and participation in protests.
The hearings scheduled for Oct. 20-23 are as follows:
Tuesday, Oct. 20
10 a.m. — Journalist Tuğçe Yılmaz will appear before the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of "publicly denigrating the state of the Republic of Turkey." At the previous hearing on April 21, 2026, the court granted a request for additional time to prepare a defense statement.
10:25 a.m. — Journalist Bircan Değirmenci will appear before the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey on charges of repeatedly spreading propaganda for an organization through posts she shared on X, formerly Twitter, in 2015. The prosecution presented its final opinion on the merits at the first hearing. Değirmenci is expected to deliver her defense statement in response to the opinion at the upcoming hearing.
10:30 a.m. — Journalists Gözde Şeker and İbrahim Kahveci will stand trial before the Ankara 52nd Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of "insult" and "slander." The case was filed following a complaint by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
2 p.m. — Journalists İsmail Arı and Yaşar Gökdemir will appear before the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in a case involving charges of "slander."
Wednesday, Oct. 21
9:30 a.m. — Journalist Fatoş Erdoğan and 19 other defendants will appear before the Istanbul 9th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of "publicly inciting the commission of a crime."
11.00 a.m. — Journalist Yusuf Çelik will appear before the Tunceli 1st High Criminal Court in eastern Turkey on charges of "aiding an organization."
10:25 a.m. — Journalist and television host Rüstem Batum, represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), will appear before the Istanbul 76th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of "insulting the president" over his social media posts.
Thursday, Oct. 22
9:30 a.m. — Journalist Fatma Sibel Gürcihan will appear before the Istanbul Anatolian 78th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of "disseminating misleading information" over a social media post concerning Berat Albayrak, Turkey’s former treasury and finance minister.
9:33 a.m. — Şaban Vatan, father of Rabia Naz, journalist Canan Coşkun and documentary filmmaker Kazım Kızıl will face their first hearing before the Görele 1st Criminal Court of First Instance in Giresun province. The case stems from their efforts to investigate the suspicious death of Rabia Naz.
The three defendants face charges of "deprivation of liberty" and "attempting to influence a fair trial."
Kızıl is scheduled to provide his statement at the Izmir 63rd Criminal Court of First Instance at 9:35 a.m., under a judicial request from the court handling the case. Coşkun will attend a hearing for the same purpose at the Istanbul 52nd Criminal Court of First Instance at 9:33 a.m.
10 a.m. — Lawyer Seda Şaraldı, a member of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), and 11 other defendants will appear before the Istanbul 32nd High Criminal Court on charges of "membership in an organization."
11:20 a.m. — Journalist Faruk Arhan, represented by MLSA, will appear before the Gölbaşı 3rd Civil Court of First Instance in Ankara in a civil lawsuit seeking compensation for nonpecuniary damages. The lawsuit was filed by Zehra Taşkesenlioğlu, a former lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), over a social media post by Arhan.
12.00 p.m — Civil society worker Erdoğan Kayra Kocagil, represented by MLSA, will appear before the Istanbul 27th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations. The charges stem from his participation in a protest held at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University on Nov. 22, 2021.
Friday, Oct. 23
9:30 a.m. — Journalist Can Öztürk, represented by MLSA, will appear before the Istanbul 69th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations in connection with the Boğaziçi University protests.
