This week, various journalism and freedom of expression cases will continue to be heard. Throughout the week, the MLSA Case Monitoring Unit will share updates on the hearings in both Turkish and English from the @MLSADavaTakip account.
September 16, Monday
09:30 AM – The third hearing of the case against journalists Pınar Gayıp and Semiha Şahin, who are being retried on charges of 'membership in a terrorist organization' following the appellate court's reversal, will take place at the Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court.
September 17, Tuesday
10:00 AM – The third hearing of the case against 30 people, including 'Ajans Muhbir' account managers Süha Çardaklı and Serkan Kafkas, who are being tried for sharing anti-refugee news on the X platform, will be held at the Ankara 7th Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:00 AM – The compensation lawsuit filed by MLSA against the Ministry of Finance for the judicial pressure and harassment suffered by journalist Sibel Yükler, who was detained due to her reporting, will be heard at the Ankara 24th Heavy Penal Court.
10:35 AM – The 28th hearing of the case against journalist Sonya Bayık and 30 activists, who were detained while following a press statement organized to protect the historical and cultural heritage of Hasankeyf in Batman and are charged with 'opposing the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations,' will be held at the Batman 1st Criminal Court of First Instance.
11:00 AM – The first hearing of the case against 10 individuals who held a 'Democracy Vigil' in front of the Supreme Election Council during local elections, charged with 'opposing the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations,' will be held at the Ankara 27th Criminal Court of First Instance.
September 18, Wednesday
09:30 AM – The first hearing of the case against author Yavuz Ekinci, charged with 'terrorist propaganda' due to expressions in his novel "Rüyası Bölünenler," will be held at the Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court.
09:00 AM – The fifth session of the retrial of journalist Hayri Demir, who is being judged for photographs found on a memory card in the trash, following the appellate court's reversal, will take place at the Ankara 15th Heavy Penal Court.
09:35 AM – The first session of the case against journalist Abdullah Kaya, defended by MLSA, charged with 'unlawfully obtaining or disseminating personal data,' will be held at the Diyadin Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:00 AM – The third hearing of the case against journalist Furkan Karabay, charged with 'publicly insulting a public official' for sharing a Presidential Decree on social media regarding deputy appointments, will be held at the Ankara 16th Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:45 AM – The case against Sinan Aygül, charged with 'insulting' after being reported by Tatvan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Emin Geylani and two of his security guards, will be heard at the Tatvan 1st Criminal Court of First Instance.
September 19, Thursday
09:30 AM – The retrial of documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin, charged with 'terrorist propaganda' and 'violation of labor and working freedoms' following a protest at NTV Ankara Representation in 2015, will be held at the Ankara 2nd Heavy Penal Court.
09:15 AM – The 10th session of the case against former HDP co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ, former group deputies İdris Baluken and Çağlar Demirel, and former MPs Altan Tan, Ahmet Yıldırım, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Mehmet Ali Aslan, and Saadet Becerikli, charged with 'resisting to comply with the duty,' 'insulting a public official in the performance of their duty,' and 'insulting the president,' will take place at the Silvan Criminal Court of First Instance.
10:00 AM – The second hearing of the case against Ahmet Erkan Yiğitsözlü, who started working as a reporter for KHK TV after being dismissed from Anadolu Agency (AA) under the State of Emergency Decree (KHK), and charged with 'membership in an armed terrorist organization' and 'violation of the law on preventing the financing of terrorism,' will be held at the Osmaniye 2nd Heavy Penal Court.
10:55 AM – The third session of the case against former Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, defended by MLSA, charged with 'resisting to comply with duty' and 'publicly insulting a public official in the performance of their duty,' will be held at the Istanbul 19th Criminal Court of First Instance. Kılıç was detained and had his throat pressed by police while covering the 19th Istanbul LGBT+ Pride March in 2021.
01:00 PM – The third session of the case against Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım, and Yıldız Tar, who were detained while making a statement about the arrest of journalists in Diyarbakır and are charged with 'opposing the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations,' will be held at the Ankara 71st Criminal Court of First Instance. MLSA is defending the journalists.
02:30 PM – The sixth hearing of the case against journalists Kürşat Yılmaz and Görkem Kınacı, filed by Turkuvaz Media Group Vice Chairman Serhat Albayrak on charges of 'defamation' and 'insult,' will be held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
September 20, Friday
10:33 AM – The 16th hearing of the case against journalist Ziya Çiçekçi, charged with 'terrorist propaganda' due to posts made from the social media account of the newspaper Yeni Özgür Politika, where he serves as editor, will be held at the Istanbul 33rd Heavy Penal Court.
11:20 AM – The second hearing of the compensation lawsuit filed by MLSA Legal Unit against the Ministry of Finance, due to Tuncay Özdamar, WDR Cosmo Turkish Editor, being detained at the airport in Ankara and held in custody for 14 hours, will be held at the Istanbul 15th Heavy Penal Court.
