Several trials involving defendants including journalists, politicians and lawyers are scheduled to hold hearings this week in Turkey.
The week’s court proceedings begin with comedian Deniz Göktaş on Monday, followed on Tuesday by the trial of jailed journalist Merdan Yanardağ.
The week’s final hearings are scheduled for Oct. 1 and include cases involving journalists Joakim Medin and Deniz Yücel, who are represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), as well as journalist Ali Çağatay.
Monday, Sept. 28
9:20 a.m. — The first hearing in the trial of journalist Barış Terkoğlu on a charge of “insulting a public official,” filed following a complaint by former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, will be held at the Ankara 38th Criminal Court of First Instance. Terkoğlu is scheduled to give his statement under a judicial request at the Istanbul Anatolian 72nd Criminal Court of First Instance at 11:45 a.m. on Dec. 23.
9:55 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Ankara 18th Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of journalist Deniz Yücel, who is represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA). Yücel is charged with “insulting a public official” over a social media post about the prosecutor who prepared the indictment against philanthropist and civil society figure Osman Kavala.
10 a.m. — The first hearing in the trial of comedian Deniz Göktaş on charges of “insulting the president,” “inciting the public to hatred and hostility or degrading the public” and “praising a crime and a criminal” will be held at the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court of First Instance.
11 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court in the trial of 23 people, including ETHA editor İsminaz Temel, former ETHA reporter Havva Cuştan and lawyer Sezin Uçar, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
11 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court in the trial of journalist Züleyha Müldür on a charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
Tuesday, Sept. 29
10 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court in the trial of Istanbul Mayor and Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, his campaign director Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ and Hüseyin Gün on charges of “political espionage.” At the previous hearing in Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, the court ordered the defendants to remain in pretrial detention.
10 a.m. — The first hearing in the trial of journalist Nedim Oruç and 18 other defendants will be held at the Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court in Şırnak, southeastern Turkey. The defendants face charges of “unauthorized possession or transfer of hazardous substances,” “covering one’s face to conceal one’s identity during meetings and demonstrations,” “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “resisting a public official to prevent the performance of duty” and “damaging public property.”
10:25 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Silvan 1st Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of seven people as part of the Silvan HDP case. Silvan is a district of Diyarbakır province in southeastern Turkey. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was a pro-Kurdish opposition party.
10:55 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of journalist Metin Cihan, who faces a charge of “insulting a public official” over social media posts following a complaint by Berat Albayrak, who was Turkey’s treasury and finance minister at the time.
Thursday, Oct. 1
9:10 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey in the trial of lawyer Necat Çiçek on a charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
9:50 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of Ramazan Yurttapan, managing editor of Demokratik Modernite magazine; editor Haydar Ergül; and Cihan Doğan, Musa Şanak and Zülal Nazan Üstündağ, whose articles appeared in the magazine’s 37th issue. The defendants are charged with “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey and the institutions and organs of the state.”
10 a.m. — The fourth hearing in the trial of Swedish journalist Kaj Joakim Medin on a charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” will be held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. Medin’s news reports, journalism-related travel, articles and books have been cited as evidence in the case.
10 a.m.— A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of journalist Ali Çağatay on charges of “disseminating misleading information” and “insulting the institutions and organs of the state.” No information on the time of the hearing is available.
11:20 a.m. — A hearing will be held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in the trial of journalist Deniz Yücel, who is represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey and the institutions and organs of the state.”
