Contents: Judged: How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom

19 Jun 19 | Magazine, Magazine Contents, Volume 48.02 Summer 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”With contributions from Xinran, Ahmet Altan, Stephen Woodman, Karoline Kan, Conor Foley, Robert Harris, Stefano Pozzebon and Melanio Escobar”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Judged: How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom. The summer 2019 edition of Index on Censorship magazine

The summer 2019 Index on Censorship magazine looks at the narrowing gap between a nation’s leader and its judges and lawyers. What happens when the independence of the justice system is gone and lawyers are no longer willing to stand up with journalists and activists to fight for freedom of expression?

In this issue Stephen Woodman reports from Mexico about its new government’s promise to start rebuilding the pillars of democracy; Sally Gimson speaks to best-selling novelist Robert Harris to discuss why democracy and freedom of expression must continue to prevail; Conor Foley investigates the macho politics of President Jair Bolsonaro and how he’s using the judicial system for political ends;  Jan Fox examines the impact of President Trump on US institutions; and Viktória Serdült digs into why the media and justice system in Hungary are facing increasing pressure from the government. In the rest of the magazine a short story from award-winning author Claudia Pineiro; Xinran reflects on China’s controversial social credit rating system; actor Neil Pearson speaks out against theatre censorship; and an interview with the imprisoned best-selling Turkish author Ahmet Altan.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Special Report: Judged: How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Law and the new world order by Rachael Jolley on why the independence of the justice system is in play globally, and why it must be protected

Turkey’s rule of one by Kaya Genc President Erdogan’s government is challenging the result of Istanbul’s mayoral elections. This could test further whether separation of powers exists

England, my England (and the Romans) by Sally Gimson Best-selling novelist Robert Harris on how democracy and freedom of expression are about a lot more than one person, one vote

“It’s not me, it’s the people” by Stephen Woodman Mexico’s new government promised to start rebuilding the pillars of democracy, but old habits die hard. Has anything changed?

When political debate becomes nasty, brutish and short by Jan Fox President Donald Trump has been trampling over democratic norms in the USA. How are US institutions holding up?

The party is the law by Karoline Kan In China, hundreds of human rights lawyers have been detained over the past years, leaving government critics exposed

Balls in the air by Conor Foley The macho politics of Brazil’s new president plus ex-president Dilma Rousseff’s thoughts on constitutional problems

Power and Glory by Silvia Nortes The Catholic church still wields enormous power in Spain despite the population becoming more secular

Stripsearch by Martin Rowson In Freedonia

What next for Viktor Orbán’s Hungary? Viktoria Serdult looks at what happens now that Hungary’s prime minister is pressurising the judiciary, press, parliament and electoral system

When justice goes rogue by Melanio Escobar and Stefano Pozzebon Venezuela is the worst country in the world for abuse of judicial power. With the economy in freefall, journalists struggle to bear witness

“If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs…” by Caroline Muscat It’s lonely and dangerous running an independent news website in Malta, but some lawyers are still willing to stand up to help

Failing to face up to the past by Ryan McChrystal argues that belief in Northern Ireland’s institutions is low, in part because details of its history are still secret

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Global View”][vc_column_text]Small victories do count by Jodie Ginsberg The kind of individual support Index gives people living under oppressive regimes is a vital step towards wider change[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”In Focus”][vc_column_text]Sending out a message in a bottle by Rachael Jolley Actor Neil Pearson, who shot to international fame as the sexist boss in the Bridget Jones’ films, talks about book banning and how the fight against theatre censorship still goes on

Remnants of war by Zehra Dogan Photographs from the 2019 Freedom of Expression Arts Award fellow Zehra Doğan’s installation at Tate Modern in London

Six ways to remember Weimar by Regula Venske The name of this small town has mythic resonances for Germans. It was the home of many of the country’s greatest classical writers and gave its name to the Weimar Republic, which was founded 100 years ago

“Media attacks are highest since 1989” by Natasha Joseph Politicians in South Africa were issuing threats to journalists in the run-up to the recent elections. Now editors have built a tracking tool to fight back

Big Brother’s regional ripple effect by Kirsten Han Singapore’s recent “fake news” law which gives ministers the right to ban content they do not like, may encourage other regimes in south-east Asia to follow suit

Who guards the writers? Irene Caselli reports on journalists who write about the Mafia and extremist movements in Italy need round-the-clock protection. They are worried Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini will take their protection away

China in their hands by Xinran The social credit system in China risks creating an all-controlling society where young people will, like generations before them, live in fear

Playing out injustice by Lewis Jennings Ugandan songwriter and politician Bobi Wine talks about how his lyrics have inspired young people to stand up against injustice and how the government has tried to silence him[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Culture”][vc_column_text]“Watch out we’re going to disappear you” by Claudia Pineiro The horrors of DIY abortion in a country where it is still not legal are laid bare in this story from Argentina, translated into English for the first time

“Knowing that they are there, helps me keep smiling in my cell” by Ahmet Altan The best-selling Turkish author and journalist gives us a poignant interview from prison and we publish an extract from his 2005 novel The Longest Night

A rebel writer by Eman Abdelrahim An exclusive extract from a short story by a new Egyptian writer. The story deals with difficult themes of mental illness set against the violence taking place during the uprising in Cairo’s Tahrir Square[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Column”][vc_column_text]Index around the world – Speak out, shut out by Lewis Jennings Index welcomed four new fellows to our 2019 programme. We were also out and about advocating for free expression around the world[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Endnote”][vc_column_text]

End note – Hanging truth out to dry by Sally Gimson Documentary maker Maxim Pozdorovkin explains why propaganda these days is all about disorientation and creating a situation where it is hard to figure out what is true

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe”][vc_column_text]In print, online, in your mailbox, on your iPad.

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SUBSCRIBE NOW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]Music has long been a form of popular rebellion, especially in the 21st century. These songs, provide a theme tune to the new magazine and give insight into everything from the nationalism in Viktor Orban’s Hungary to the role of government-controlled social media in China to poverty in Venezuela

LISTEN HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]The summer 2019 magazine podcast, featuring interviews with best-selling author Xinran; Italian journalist and contributor to the latest issue, Stefano Pozzebon; and Steve Levitsky, the author of the New York Times best-seller How Democracies Die.

LISTEN HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Turkey: Press freedom violations May 2019

31 May 19 | Turkey, Turkey Incident Reports

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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”39 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Imprisoned journalist Ayşe Düzkan transferred to open prison” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

Ayşe Düzkan

23 May 2019 – Imprisoned journalist Ayşe Düzkan was released from Bakırköy Women’s Prison in response to her numerous requests to be transferred to an open prison.

Düzkan was to be transferred to the women’s open prison in Eskişehir province within the next 30 hours following her release, Mezopotamya Agency reported. She will serve the remaining part of her 18-month sentence in Eskişehir.

Düzkan was imprisoned on 29 January 2019 to serve the sentence she was handed down in January 2018 for participating in 2016 in a campaign for solidarity with the now-defunct pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58682

https://bianet.org/english/women/208790-journalist-ayse-duzkan-referred-to-eskisehir-open-prison

https://yesilgazete.org/blog/2019/05/24/ayse-duzkan-eskisehir-acik-cezaevine-sevk-edildi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecutor seeks conviction for Gazete Karınca’s publisher in first hearing” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]23 May 2019 – Necla Demir, the former publisher of the online news website Gazete Karınca, appeared before the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the first hearing of her trial.

Demir is accused of “systematically disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” for the website’s coverage of Turkey’s 2018 military operation on the Syrian city of Afrin. Demir and her lawyers Özcan Kılıç and Sercan Korkmaz were in attendance at the hearing, P24 reported.

Addressing the court for her defense statement, Demir said that the indictment against her was against law and press freedom. “The coverage of civilian deaths and the bombings of hospitals, which forms the basis of the indictment have been included in both local and international human rights reports. The coverage was considered objectively and written using journalistic terminology,” Demir said and requested her acquittal.

The prosecution then presented their final opinion of the case, requesting the court to convict Demir of “systematically disseminating terrorist propaganda.” Demir’s lawyers requested additional time to prepare their defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion.

In its interim ruling, the court granted additional time for the final defense statements and adjourned the trial until 11 July 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1131486132376678400

https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazete-karinca-nin-eski-imtiyaz-sahibi-necla-demir-hakkindaki-ilk-dava-goruldu,822686

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-necla-demirin-davasi-ertelendi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of Meşale Tolu and 26 others adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

Meşale Tolu

23 May 2019 – A trial where 27 defendants, including Etkin news agency (ETHA) reporter and interpreter Meşale Tolu and her husband, Suat Çorlu, a member of the central executive board of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), stand accused of terrorism-related charges, resumed at the 29th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Çorlu and five other defendants were in attendance in the courtroom as well as defense lawyers, P24 reported. Tolu, a German national, did not attend because she is exempt from personal appearance in court.

Çorlu, whose passport was seized by Turkish authorities upon his arrival at the Istanbul Airport on a flight from Germany to attend the hearing the night before the trial, asked the court whether his passport was confiscated upon a court order.

The presiding judge said there was no travel ban issued by the court but they have found out that three other investigations against him were ongoing. His passport might be taken by authorities in connection with one of those investigations, the court said.

The court set 11 October 2019 as the date for the next hearing.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1131444687603216384

https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/prozess-gegen-mesale-tolu-ehemann-darf-tuerkei-nicht-verlassen,RRIXeLg

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Two files against Jin News director Safiye Alağaş merged” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]23 May 2019 – The third hearing in the trial of JinNews news director Safiye Alağaş on the charges of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group,” “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” and “praising crime or a criminal” took place at the 4th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır. Jin News, a women-only and feminist news website based in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakır has faced repeated censorship and investigations over the years.

Alağaş did not attend the hearing, where she was represented by her lawyer, Pirozhan Karali, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The court merged another file against Alağaş on the “propaganda” charge, issued on 16 January 2019 by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Diyarbakır, with the ongoing case. The presiding judge said the merged file still lacked the journalist’s permanent address.

Lawyer Karali requested additional time to file the permanent address notification and other lacking documents. The court granted the lawyer 20 days to complete the documents and ruled that it would issue an arrest warrant for Alağaş in order for her defense statement to be taken in the event her lawyer fails to meet the deadline.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58659?page=2

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-alagas-davasi-adres-bildirimi-icin-20-gunluk-sure-verildi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mustafa Göktaş ordered to remain behind bars” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]23 May 2019 – The fifth hearing of the trial against Mustafa Göktaş, a former employee of the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, took place at the 2nd High Criminal Court of Şanlıurfa.

Göktaş and his lawyer were in attendance at the hearing, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The prosecution reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted during the previous hearing, in which they asked the court to convict Göktaş of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”

Göktaş’s lawyer Mustafa Vefa told the court they rejected the prosecutor’s final opinion and requested his client’s release pending trial.

Göktaş requested a continuance, saying he was physically unfit to make his defense statement because he has been on a hunger strike since 1 March.

Granting Göktaş additional time for his defense statement, the court adjourned the trial until 12 September.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58686

https://nupel.net/gazeteci-goktas-tahliye-edilmedi-24368h.html

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Ahmet Altan makes defense statement in “insulting public official” case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]21 May 2019 – A trial in which imprisoned novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan is accused of “insulting a public official” got underway at the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, P24 reported.

The case was originally launched in 2010 upon a complaint by former public prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, currently a lawmaker with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The case concerns an article Altan penned in 2010, titled “Büyük Savaş Başladı” (The great battle has begun), in which he mentioned a leaked phone conversation between two justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals about Cihaner’s release from prison, a subject that had previously been covered by news media. Cihaner later withdrew his complaint, and the case was put on hold. However, it got underway again after Altan’s conviction in a case where he was accused of “insulting the president” was upheld by an appellate court in March 2018.

Addressing the court via the courtroom video-conferencing network SEGBİS, Altan said that the prosecution was trying to cover up a scandal in the judiciary that took place 10 years ago by attempting to incriminate him.

In its interim decision, the court ruled to wait for the response from the Criminal Court of First Instance of Gölbaşı concerning Cihaner and adjourned the trial until 17 September 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1130731056552906753

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379839/ahmet-altan-kamu-gorevlisine-hakaret-iddiasindan-hakim-karsisindaydi

http://www.haberdar.com/gundem/ahmet-altan-savcilar-sanki-en-sacma-iddianameyi-kim-yazacak-diye-yarisiyor-h135742.html[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court convicts 7 defendants in Özgür Gündem trial” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]21 May 2019 – The final hearing in the trial of 24 defendants including former Özgür Gündem daily editors and columnists was held at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.

24 defendants were standing accused of “praising the offense or the offender,” “provoking commission of offense,” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda” crimes. The pro-Kurdish newspaper was closed down by a state of emergency decree on August 2016.

Seven defendants, including the shuttered newspaper’s co-editors in chief – lawyer Eren Keskin and publisher Hüseyin Aykol – managing editor Reyhan Çapan and columnists Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu were handed down jail sentences for the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.”

Eight other defendants were acquitted for the same crime. The charges against two defendants were dropped due to the expiration of the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per the Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law and the case files of seven defendants were ruled to be overseen in a separate trial.

The panel sentenced Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to 3 years and 9 months; Hüseyin Akyol to 2 years and 1 month; Hüseyin Güçlü and Tahir Temel to 1 year and 6 months; Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Ayşe Batumlu to 1 year and 3 months in jail for “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”

Hacıoğlu and Batumlu’s sentences were deferred. The sentences that were not deferred will be appealed.

Acquitting Ayşe Berktay, Celalettin Can, Cemal Bozkurt, Çetin Ulu, Emrullah Kurcan, Ergin Atabey, Nuray Özdoğan and Özlem Söyler from the charge of “disseminating terrorist propaganda,” the court decided to separate the case files of Filiz Koçali, Enver Baysal, Hasan Başak, İhsan Yorulmaz, Muzaffer Ayata, Serbest Zan and Züleyha Yılmaz, for whom the arrest warrants issued were not carried out. The defense statements of the seven defendants are yet to be heard.

The court also decided to remove the arrest warrants issued for Ruhat Kaya and Bülent Alp and drop the charge which accuses them of “propaganda” on the grounds that the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law had expired.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1130847861401219076

https://t24.com.tr/haber/ozgur-gundem-davasinda-karar-durusmasi-7-kisiye-15-yil-hapis-cezasi-verildi,822472

http://www.diken.com.tr/ozgur-gundem-davasinda-avukat-eren-keskin-ve-gazetecilere-ceza-yagdi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Assailants attack local journalist in Antalya” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]20 May 2019 – A local journalist in Antalya was targeted by assailants on 20 May. Ergin Çevik, the editor-in-chief of the Antalya-based news portal Güney Haberci, was attacked by three people in the Aksu district, daily Evrensel reported

Çevik was reportedly assaulted because he wrote about allegations of unearned income in the municipality of Aksu in a column he published in the newspaper. In the column, Çevik called on the Mayor of Aksu Halil Şahin, who was re-elected from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the local elections on 31 March, to address the allegations.

Link(s):

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379822/gazetecilere-saldirilar-suruyor-antalyada-ergin-cevik-darbedildi

https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/208674-journalist-ergin-cevik-attacked-in-antalya

https://www.haberturk.com/gazeteci-ergin-cevik-saldiriya-ugradi-2470975

Categories: Physical Assault / Injury

Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Mustafa Yayla sent to prison in Izmir for ‘insulting the president’” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]19 May 2019 – Mustafa Yayla, a local journalist based in the Aegean province of Aydın, was sent to prison after an appellate court upheld a previous conviction on the charge of “insulting the president,” online news website T24 reported.

Yayla had been given a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days over his social media posts in a trial overseen by the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Kuşadası. The court refused to defer his sentence or commute it to a judicial fine.

Yayla, who had recently relocated in the nearby city of Izmir, was placed in the Torbalı Prison.

Link(s):

https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/93771/gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-erdogana-hakaretten-cezaevine-girdi

https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-cumhurbaskani-na-hakaretten-cezaevine-girdi,822068

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gerekcesi-cumhurbaskanina-hakaret-gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-cezaevine-girdi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial + Government / State Agency / Public official(s) / Political party[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist İdris Demirel taken into custody in Iğdır” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – Local journalist İdris Demirel was taken in custody during house raids by the Gendarmerie in the northeastern province of Iğdır, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported. Demirel was arrested alongside local politician Kemal Çakmak and a citizen named Deniz Kaynar.

Reports said Demirel, Çakmak and Kaynar were arrested as part of an investigation into a demonstration that involved human shields, which took place four years ago.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi19.com/tum-haberler/content/view/57971

http://www.haberdar.com/gundem/igdir-da-biri-gazeteci-3-kisi-gozaltina-alindi-h135254.html

http://www.igdirdogusgazetesi.com/haber/2819/17/igdirda-biri-gazeteci-3-kisi-gozaltina-alindiyok

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of journalist Mehmet Çakmakçı adjourned until November” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – The trial of journalist Mehmet Çakmakçı on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” resumed on 17 May at the 10th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, online news website Gazete Karınca reported. Çakmakçı, who uses the pen name Şiyar Dicle, was jailed pending trial in 2017 and was released at the end of the first courtroom hearing of his trial.

The court ruled to wait for the response from the Council of Forensic Medicine concerning the forensic examination of audio tapes in the indictment against Çakmakçı and adjourned the trial until 8 November 2019.

Link(s):

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-mehmet-cakmakcinin-durusmasi-ertelendi/

https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/93406/mehmet-cakmakcinin-durusmasi-goruldu

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Local journalist İdris Özyol beaten, hospitalized in Antalya” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – Local journalist İdris Özyol was assaulted by a group of three unidentified assailants in the coastal city of Antalya. The veteran journalist was hospitalized following the attack, which took place during evening hours of 15 May 2019 in front of the offices of the local newspaper Akdeniz’de Yeni Yüzyıl, where he works.

The assailants were arrested on 17 May. Özyol said one of his attackers, whom he identified as Taner Canatek, was the driver of a prominent local politician from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which has allied with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the general and presidential elections in 2018 and the local elections in March 2019. Canatek worked for the AKP candidate during the local election campaign, Özyol claimed. Journalist associations condemned the attack.

Link(s):

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379501/antalyada-gazeteci-idris-ozyol-saldiriya-ugradi

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/15/gazeteci-idris-ozyol-saldiriya-ugradi/

https://ahvalnews.com/journalism/turkish-journalist-beaten-after-critical-commentary

Categories: Physical Assault / Injury

Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of Özgür Gündem editors and politician Hatip Dicle adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – A trial where journalists Hüseyin Aykol, Zana Kaya and İnan Kızılkaya — former co-editors-in-chief and managing editor of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem — and Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle stand accused for the news stories and articles published in the newspaper, resumed at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul. Özgür Gündem was closed down by a state of emergency decree in August 2016.

The four defendants are accused of “publicly degrading the government, the judiciary or the police force” and “publicly degrading the Turkish nation, the Turkish Republic and the Parliament” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

None of the defendants were in attendance at the hearing, where they were represented by their lawyer Özcan Kılıç, P24 reported.

In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Hatip Dicle and adjourned the trial until 10 October 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128927471863291904

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Public Prosecutor seeks criminal investigation against Ahmet Şık over his defense statements during trial” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Ahmet Şık, seeking a criminal investigation over two separate allegations. Şık, a renowned investigative journalist, was sentenced to 7,5 years in prison pending appeal in the trial against the executive and staff of the daily Cumhuriyet in 2018.

The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Şık of “insulting the Turkish Republic, the government and the judiciary” as per Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code based on his remarks in his defense statement in the “Cumhuriyet trial,” online news website T24 reported. The vocal journalist’s statement  had a wide echo in the national political and public debate.

The Prosecutor’s Office is separately accusing Şık of “insulting the president” based on two complaints filed with the Presidency Communication Center (CİMER).

Link(s):

https://t24.com.tr/haber/ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi-cumhuriyet-davasindaki-savunma-kanit-sayildi,821560

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379513/hdp-milletvekili-ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi

https://tr.sputniknews.com/turkiye/201905161039066278-ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Imprisoned journalist İdris Yılmaz faces new charges” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – Imprisoned journalist İdris Yılmaz is facing terrorism-related charges in a new indictment, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported. Yılmaz, a journalist based in the eastern province of Van, is currently imprisoned in the Elazığ No. 1 Maximum Security Prison, serving a combined prison term of nearly 10 years he has been given in various trials over his journalistic work.

The new indictment, prepared in light of a witness testimony, accuses Yılmaz of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” The journalist’s social media posts are held as evidence for the “propaganda” charge.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi19.com/tum-haberler/content/view/57816?page=2

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379554/tutuklu-gazeteci-idris-yilmaz-hakkinda-bir-dava-daha-acildi

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1396389/Gazeteci_Yilmaz_a_bir_dava_daha.html

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Seda Taşkın acquitted of one charge but convicted of “propaganda”” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – The appellate court overseeing Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Seda Taşkın’s appeal has overturned the trial court’s October 2018 verdict that sentenced the journalist to a total of 7.5 years in prison on two separate charges.

Taşkın addressed the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice from the Ankara courthouse via the courtroom video-conferencing system, P24 reported.

Taşkın told the court that she was put on trial as a result of her journalistic work. “Journalism is not a crime,” Taşkın added.

At the end of the second appeal hearing of Taşkın’s trial, held on 15 May 2019, the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice acquitted the journalist of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” while giving her a prison sentence of 1 year, 11 months and 10 days on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The court deferred the sentence.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128541621090496512

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379422/gazeteci-seda-taskina-verilen-1-yil-11-ay-hapis-cezasi-ertelendi

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-seda-taskina-hem-ceza-hem-beraat/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court drops charge against journalist Erdem Gül in intel trucks case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – The final hearing of Cumhuriyet daily’s former Ankara representative Erdem Gül and opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu where they were accused of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member,” was held at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The trial is related to the publication of footages allegedly showing weapons bound to Syria in trucks belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency MİT by the newspaper Cumhuriyet on May 2014.

Berberoğlu, a former journalist and editor-in-chief of the mainstream newspaper Hürriyet, was accused of providing the footages to the newspaper.

In its verdict on Gül, the court ruled that the the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per the Turkish press law had expired and dismissed the case, P24 reported.

Concerning Berberoğlu’s file, the court ruled that there was no need to render a separate verdict on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” on the grounds of Berberoğlu’s previous conviction in another trial in relation to the same news report for “disclosing confidential information pertaining to the security of the state.” The court also lifted the international travel ban on Berberoğlu.

The retrial of Can Dündar, Cumhuriyet’s then editor-in-chief, on the charge of “disclosing confidential information for espionage purposes” over the same coverage in the newspaper also resumed on 15 May at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The court decided to wait for the response from German judicial authorities concerning Turkey’s extradition request for Dündar and adjourned the trial until 31 October 2019.

Link(s):

https://expressioninterrupted.com/tr/mit-tirlari-davasinda-erdem-gul-hakkindaki-suclama-dusuruldu/

https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/15/mit-tirlari-erdem-gul-hakkindaki-dava-dusuruldu/

https://tr.sputniknews.com/turkiye/201905151039059191-mit-tirlari-davasinda-erdem-gul-ve-enis-berberoglu-karari/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Reporter Soner Karabulut briefly detained” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – Journalist Soner Karabulut, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish online newspaper Gazete Fersude, was taken into custody on 14 May in Istanbul during house raids by the police, the website reported. The investigation was targeting members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), the report said.

Karabulut and five others were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse on 15 May. The court released Karabulut and four ESP members under judicial control measures.

Link(s):

https://www.gazetefersude.com/istanbulda-ev-baskinlari-gazetemiz-muhabiri-soner-karabulut-dahil-4-kisi-gozaltinda-58248/

https://ilerihaber.org/icerik/gazete-fersude-muhabiri-soner-karabulut-gozaltina-alindi-97784.html

https://tihv.org.tr/16-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/

Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation

Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Evrensel editor-in-chief’s trial on ‘insulting the president’ charge adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]14 May 2019 – The second hearing in the trial of journalist Fatih Polat, the editor-in-chief of Evrensel daily, on the charge of “insulting the president” took place at the Bakırköy 31st Criminal Court of First Instance.

Polat is standing trial over his article titled “Erdoğan ailesiyle ilgili bu iddialara muhatapları ne diyor?” (What do those addressed say about these allegations concerning the Erdoğan family?), published in the newspaper on 28 May 2017.

An Istanbul court had ordered the column be removed from the Evrensel website. The newspaper’s lawyers objected to the court order, but their objection was rejected and the article was subsequently removed from the website. After the removal of the article, lawyers representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against Polat for the column.

Lawyer Devrim Avcı submitted to the court the original news report published in the website theblacksea.eu, that was the source of Polat’s article, P24 reported. Avcı added that the news report was still accessible online.

Avcı also submitted to the court an expert opinion concerning Polat’s case that was penned by the London-based human rights organization Article 19. Avcı told the court that the expert opinion by Article 19 demonstrated that Craig Shaw’s news report, which Polat quoted in its entirety in his article, was nominated for the British Journalism Awards in England and the European Press Prize.

After accepting the documents submitted by the defense lawyers, the court ruled to send a memo to the Journalists’ Association of Turkey (TGC) and the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS), seeking their opinion about the website that was the source for Polat’s article and whether Craig Shaw, the author of the original article, is a journalist or not. The court then adjourned the trial until 17 September 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128189606502047744

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379364/gazeteci-fatih-polat-malta-belgeleri-nedeniyle-hakim-karsisina-cikti

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-fatih-polatin-durusmasi-ertelendi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences + Censorship (i)

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalists Zeynep Kuray, İrfan Tunççelik spend three days in custody for covering demonstrations” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]13 May 2019 – Journalist Zeynep Kuray and İrfan Tunççelik, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency (MA), were both taken into custody as they were covering demonstrations in Istanbul aimed at raising awareness of ongoing hunger strikes in Turkey’s prisons.

Kuray was arrested while she was covering a demonstration in the Spice Bazaar in the historic Eminönü quarter while Tunççelik was arrested as he was covering a demonstration in front of the Bakırköy Prison, online news website Artı Gerçek reported.

Both journalists were brought to the Istanbul Courthouse on 13 May. The prosecutor requested their imprisonment pending trial. The court released both journalists under judicial control measures.

Link(s):

https://www.artigercek.com/haberler/gazeteciler-zeynep-kuray-ve-irfan-tunccelik-gozaltina-alindi

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteciler-zeynep-kuray-ve-irfan-tunccelik-serbest-birakildi/

https://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/208453-journalists-zeynep-kuray-and-irfan-tunccelik-released-on-probation

Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation

Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Assaillants attack prominent columnist in front of his house” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]13 May 2019 – Journalist Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a prominent columnist for the nationalist Yeniçağ newspaper, suffered serious injuries from an attack in front of his house in Ankara.

The attack took place late in the evening hours of 10 May, as Demirağ was returning home after hosting a political show on a private TV broadcaster. The assailants, a group of seven men, fled the scene in a car after beating up Demirağ using baseball bats.

Demirağ was hospitalized by his relatives. Six people who were arrested during the week in connection with the attack were released after giving their statements before a prosecutor on 13 May.

Link(s):

https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/yavuz-selim-demiraga-alcak-saldiri-233723h.htm

https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/gazeteci-yavuz-selim-demirag-evinin-onunde-saldiriya-ugradi,7o-CIobc0kidXDs5hikGCw

https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/savciliktan-yavuz-selim-demiraga-saldiranlar-hakkinda-zoraki-islem-234370h.htm

https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/spor-aleti-51931yy.htm

Categories: Physical Assault / Injury

Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Canan Coşkun briefly detained over unpaid legal fine” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]11 May 2019 – Journalist Canan Coşkun was taken into custody late 10 May 2019 in Istanbul based on an arrest warrant, which came up during a police security check, DW reported.

It later became clear that the warrant had been issued because of an overdue legal fine of TL 12,600 handed down by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in a case where Coşkun was convicted of “insulting a public official” over a news story she penned in 2015 for the Cumhuriyet daily. The newspaper had failed to pay the amount after the ruling became definitive.

Coşkun spent the night at the police station. She was released the next day after the overdue fine was paid.

Link(s):

https://www.dw.com/tr/gazeteci-canan-co%C5%9Fkun-serbest-b%C4%B1rak%C4%B1ld%C4%B1/a-48700121

https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/11/canan-coskun-yazdi-nezarethaneden-izlenimler/

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/11/canan-coskun-serbest-birakildi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”“KCK press trial” adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]9 May 2019 – The 16th hearing of the “KCK Press Trial,” where a total of 46 journalists and other media workers stand accused of “membership in a terrorist group” and “terrorism propaganda,” took place at the 3rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

None of the defendants were in attendance at the hearing and were represented by their lawyers, P24 reported.

The presiding judge announced during the hearing that a separate case file about one of the defendants, journalist Yüksel Genç, overseen by the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, was sent to the court with the request to merge the two files. However, the trial court rejected the request.

The court then adjourned the trial until 22 October 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126429796798431232

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379064/kck-basin-davasi-goruldu-gazeteci-yuksel-gence-yeni-dava

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/kck-basin-davasi-gazeteci-yuksel-gence-yeni-dava-acilmis-bir-sonraki-durusma-ekimde/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court announces deferred judgment about jailed journalist Yetkin Yıldız” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]9 May 2019 – A court in Ankara announced a judgment against jailed journalist Yetkin Yıldız that had been deferred, P24 reported.

The 35th Criminal Court of First Instance of Ankara had convicted Yıldız of “insult” in a case that had been filed in 2010 by a judge. The accusation stemmed from a news story published online in the news website Stratejik Boyut, where Yıldız was the chief editor. The 10-month sentence Yıldız was given at the time had been deferred by five years.

Yıldız later stood trial in a separate case on the charges of “insult” and “publicly inciting crime” over an article posted online on the news portal Aktif Haber, where he was chief editor during his five-year probation. Yıldız was also convicted in that case, overseen by the 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Silivri.

Since he “committed a similar offense” during his five-year probation, the 35th Criminal Court of First Instance of Ankara announced its earlier judgment at the hearing on 9 May. The court suspended Yıldız’s sentence by 1 year.

Yıldız is currently imprisoned in the Silivri Prison in Istanbul. He was sentenced in 2018 to 7 years and 6 months in prison on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” as part of a major media trial where columnists Murat Aksoy and Atilla Taş were among his 25 co-defendants.

Link(s):

https://expressioninterrupted.com/tr/turkiyede-basin-ve-ifade-ozgurlugu-207/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of 7 journalists over 2016 news story adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – A trial where seven journalists and one other defendant are charged with “making those involved in combating terrorism a target” resumed at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.

The case was launched after a complaint from senior gendarmerie commander Maj. Gen. Musa Çitil, who was cited in the news report, published in February 2016 by the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA). The agency was closed down by a state of emergency decree in October 2016.

The defendants include Ömer Çelik, who was the news editor at DİHA at the time, DİHA reporters Çağdaş Kaplan, Hamza Gündüz and Selman Çiçek, journalist Abdulvahap Taş as well as the responsible editor and publisher of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür gündem, İnan Kızılkaya and Kemal Sancılı. Çiçek is additionally charged with “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” An eighth defendant, who is at large, is also cited in the indictment.

Sancılı, who is currently imprisoned in Edirne, addressed the court via the courtroom video-conferencing network. The rest of the defendants were not in attendance and were instead represented by their lawyers, P24 reported. This was the third hearing in the case.

In its interim ruling, the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant in place for the eighth defendant, Selim Günenç, and adjourned the trial until 2 October 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126007620534448129

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/musa-citilin-sikayetiyle-haklarinda-dava-acilan-yedi-gazetecinin-durusmasi-ertelendi-2/

https://tihv.org.tr/09-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Özgür Gündem trial adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – The trial of 23 former pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper’s editors and columnists, including Eren Keskin, Hüseyin Aykol, Reyhan Çapan, Filiz Koçali, Ayşe Berktay, Nuray Özdoğan, Celalettin Can, Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu, resumed at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The 23 defendants are accused of “praising crime and criminals,” “inciting crime,” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” The newspaper was closed down on August 2016 by a state of emergency decree.

The prosecution reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted to the court on 26 October 2017. Lawyer Özcan Kılıç, who represents part of the defendants in the case, requested additional time for the final defense statements since the court has rejected his request at the previous hearing to merge this case with another ongoing trial against the newspaper. The court granted additional time for the defense statements and adjourned the trial until 21 May 2019 when the verdict is expected to be announced.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126074473092923392

https://t24.com.tr/haber/ozgur-gundem-davasi-21-mayis-a-ertelendi,820315

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378988/ozgur-gundem-davasi-21-mayisa-ertelendi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecutor seeks conviction for jailed journalist Mehmet Gündem” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – The fifth hearing in the trial of jailed journalist and columnist Mehmet Gündem on the charge of “terrorist group membership” took place at the 35th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Gündem, who is in pre-trial detention in the Silivri Prison, was brought to the courtroom under the supervision of gendarmerie officers, P24 reported.

The prosecutor sought for Gündem’s conviction on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” according to the final opinion submitted to the court in between courtroom hearings.

Gündem’s lawyers requested additional time to prepare their final defense statements and asked for the journalist’s release from prison pending trial.

Ruling for the continuation of Gündem’s pre-trial detention, the court granted additional time to the defense and adjourned the trial until 29 May.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126053682955603968

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court finds ‘no violations of rights’ in jailed journalists’ files” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court on 3 May rejected the individual application of jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, finding no rights violations in his file that had been pending before the court since November 2016. The court also rejected the application of Nazlı Ilıcak, Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case.

Altan and Ilıcak’s files were among 10 individual applications by journalists reviewed by the top court’s Plenary over two days, on 2 and 3 May.

The other applications were those filed on behalf of former Cumhuriyet staff members Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Bülent Utku and Önder Çelik, former Zaman columnist Ali Bulaç and journalist Murat Aksoy.

The Plenary concluded at the end of the morning session of Friday’s deliberations that there was “no rights violations” in Altan’s file, while it ruled in favor of Bulaç. Rendering its decision concerning Ilıcak’s application on Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Court rejected her application through a unanimous vote.

On Thursday, at the end of the first day of deliberations, the court ruled that Kadri Gürsel and Murat Aksoy’s rights to personal liberty and security had been violated, while it rejected the applications of former Cumhuriyet staffers Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Önder Çelik, Ahmet Şık and Bülent Utku. Both Gürsel and Aksoy, whose demands were accepted by the top court, have served their entire prison sentences. The others, however, have all prison time remaining on their sentence. Çelik and Utku, were recently sent back to prison to serve the remaining part of their sentences after those were uphold by an appellate court. Prison sentences against Atalay, Sabuncu, Şık being over 5 years will be further reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The court rendered all decisions except for the one concerning Ilıcak’s file through a majority vote.

Link(s):

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/top-turkey-court-rejects-jailed-journalist-appeals-190503181911161.html

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-court-rejects-individual-appeals-of-sentenced-journalists-143145

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-highest-court-says-journalists-rights-violated

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”P24 Founding President Hasan Cemal convicted of “propaganda” over 2015 column” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – P24’s founding president and T24 columnist Hasan Cemal was given a prison sentence of 3 months and 22 days on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” on 7 May 2019.

Cemal was standing trial over an article he penned in 2015, titled “Silvan’dan: Bizi acılara ve ölümlere o kadar alıştırdılar ki…” (Silvan: They’ve inured us to pain and death).

This was the third hearing in the trial, overseen by the Istanbul 36th High Criminal Court. Hasan Cemal and his lawyer Fikret İlkiz were in attendance, P24 reported.

Addressing the court for his defense statement, Hasan Cemal rejected the accusation and asked to be acquitted.

After hearing the defense statements by Cemal and his lawyer, the court went on to issue its verdict, convicting Cemal of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group” and giving him 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison. The panel ruled for the sentence to be deducted from a previous sentence Cemal was given on the same charge by the 22th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. As a result, the court gave Cemal a prison sentence of 3 months and 22 days, which it then commuted to a judicial fine of TL 3,360.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125761094323245058

https://t24.com.tr/haber/hasan-cemal-75-yasinda-50-yillik-bir-gazeteci-olarak-teror-propagandasi-iddiasiyla-yargilanmam-turkiye-deki-buyuk-cokusun-gostergesi,820114

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/teror-orgutu-propagandasindan-ceza-41206770

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Cansu Pişkin given 10-month prison term for news story” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – Journalist Cansu Pişkin was handed down a prison sentence on the charge of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target” over a news report published in 2018 in the Evrensel newspaper.

Pişkin and her lawyers Levent Pişkin, Devrim Avcı and Mustafa Söğütlü were in attendance at the 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the third hearing of her trial, P24 reported. The hearing was monitored by representatives from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Press Institute (IPI), Article 19 and a number of academics and journalists.

Pişkin addressed the court and reiterated her previous defense statement saying that she did not write the news story for which she is accused with the intent to commit a crime but to inform the public.

Following the completion of the defense statements, the court issued its verdict, finding Pişkin guilty of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target.” The court sentenced her to 10 months in prison and deferred the sentence.

A group of students from Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University were imprisoned in late March 2018 for staging an anti-war protest. In her news story published on 5 April 2018, Pişkin reported that the prosecutor assigned to the investigation concerning the Boğaziçi students on 3 April, the day on which the students were referred to court, had claimed in a previous indictment that the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) was a political party “operating under the guidance of a terrorist group.”

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125734034636722177

https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/07/gazeteci-cansu-piskine-10-ay-hapis-cezasi-verildi/

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378928/gazeteci-cansu-piskine-10-ay-hapis-cezasi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecution seeks sentence for photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan on “propaganda” charge” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – The fifth hearing of the trial of photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan on the charges of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” took place at the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Representatives from Article 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI) monitored the hearing, where Erdoğan and his lawyer Figen Albuga Çalıkuşu were in attendance, P24 reported.

The prosecution submitted their final opinion of the case during the hearing, seeking conviction for Erdoğan on the charge of “propaganda” as per Article 7/2 of Turkey’s anti-terror law (TMK). The prosecution requested Erdoğan’s acquittal for the “membership” charge.

Lawyer Çalıkuşu requested a continuance for Erdoğan’s final defense statement. Granting additional time for the defense, the court adjourned the trial until 13 June 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125726809637703682

https://tihv.org.tr/08-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Kibriye Evren ordered to remain behind bars” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – The trial of jailed journalist Kibriye Evren on terrorism-related charges resumed at the 5th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.

Evren, who is jailed in the Diyarbakır Prison, and has been on a hunger strike since 16 December 2018, did not attend the hearing, P24 reported. She was represented by her lawyers Pirozhan Karali and Resul Temur.The prosecution said they reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted to the court on 16 April. The prosecutor also requested the continuation of Evren’s pre-trial detention.

Evren’s lawyer Temur requested additional time for Evren to make her final defense statement in person in the courtroom. He also requested his client’s release pending trial. In their interim decision, the court ruled to keep Evren in pre-trial detention and adjourned the trial until 18 July 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125652925823508480

http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/aclik-grevindeki-gazeteci-kibriye-evrene-yine-tahliye-yok/

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/07/gazeteci-evren-tahliye-edilmedi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Appellate court drops jail sentence given to Pelin Ünker in Paradise Papers case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]6 May 2019 – An appellate court has overturned a jail sentence handed down in January to former Cumhuriyet daily reporter Pelin Ünker, Medyascope reported.

Ünker was given a 13-month prison sentence by the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul in a lawsuit filed by former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and his two sons over Ünker’s reporting on the “Paradise Papers” leaks.

According to the report, the appellate court ruled on 19 April for the conviction against Ünker in the case filed by Bülent and Erkam Yıldırım to be dropped because the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law had expired.

The appellate court upheld the legal fine Ünker was given on the charge of “insulting a public official.” However, it ruled that the compensation Ünker was ordered to pay should be TL 7,080 instead of TL 8,660.

Link(s):

https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/06/paradise-papers-davasi-istinaf-mahkemesi-gazeteci-pelin-unkerin-hapis-cezasini-bozdu/

https://t24.com.tr/haber/istinaf-mahkemesi-gazeteci-pelin-unker-in-hapis-cezasini-bozdu,819926

http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/208208-istinaf-mahkemesi-pelin-unker-in-hapis-cezasini-bozdu-para-cezasini-onadi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mezopotamya Agency reporter Barış Polat released under judicial control measures” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]5 May 2019 – Barış Polat, an intern reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency, who was taken into custody on 3 May as he was covering a news story at the Şanlıurfa Courthouse, was released from custody on 5 May. Polat was taken to the courthouse following his questioning at the anti-terror branch of the Şanlıurfa Police Department. Polat was released under judicial control measures by the court he was referred to.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/56576?page=8

https://ozgurmanset.net/muhabirimiz-baris-polat-serbest-birakildi/

Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation

Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court finds ‘no violations of rights’ in jailed journalists’ files” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court on 3 May rejected the individual application of jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, finding no rights violations in his file that had been pending before the court since November 2016. The court also rejected the application of Nazlı Ilıcak, Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case.

Altan and Ilıcak’s files were among 10 individual applications by journalists reviewed by the top court’s Plenary over two days, on 2 and 3 May.

The other applications were those filed on behalf of former Cumhuriyet staff members Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Bülent Utku and Önder Çelik, former Zaman columnist Ali Bulaç and journalist Murat Aksoy.

The Plenary concluded at the end of the morning session of Friday’s deliberations that there was “no rights violations” in Altan’s file, while it ruled in favor of Bulaç. Rendering its decision concerning Ilıcak’s application on Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Court rejected her application through a unanimous vote.

On Thursday, at the end of the first day of deliberations, the court ruled that Kadri Gürsel and Murat Aksoy’s rights to personal liberty and security had been violated, while it rejected the applications of former Cumhuriyet staffers Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Önder Çelik, Ahmet Şık and Bülent Utku. Both Gürsel and Aksoy, whose demands were accepted by the top court, have served their entire prison sentences. The others, however, have all prison time remaining on their sentence. Çelik and Utku, were recently sent back to prison to serve the remaining part of their sentences after those were uphold by an appellate court. Prison sentences against Atalay, Sabuncu, Şık being over 5 years will be further reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The court rendered all decisions except for the one concerning Ilıcak’s file through a majority vote.

Link(s):

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/top-turkey-court-rejects-jailed-journalist-appeals-190503181911161.html

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-court-rejects-individual-appeals-of-sentenced-journalists-143145

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-highest-court-says-journalists-rights-violated

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mezopotamya news agency reporter Barış Polat taken into custody” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Barış Polat, an intern reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, was taken into custody on 3 May at the entrance of the Şanlıurfa Courthouse, where he was covering a news story. Polat was detained on the grounds that he was taking photographs inside the courthouse, the agency reported.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/56367

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-baris-polat-gozaltinda/

https://t24.com.tr/haber/mezopotamya-ajansi-muhabiri-baris-polat-gozaltina-alindi,819514

Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation

Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court rejects Ziya Ataman’s application” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled on the individual application of jailed reporter Ziya Ataman, online news website Gazete Karınca reported. The court rejected Ataman’s application, the report said, finding his claim that his right to personal liberty and security to be “ill-founded” and his claim that his right to a fair trial was violated inadmissible because “all legal remedies have not been exhausted.

Ataman, a reported for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which was closed down by a state of emergency decree in 2016, has been jailed for more than three years. The trial against him is ongoing in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Link(s):

http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/aymden-tutuklu-gazeteci-ataman-icin-yapilan-basvuruya-ret/

https://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/208071-anayasa-mahkemesi-gazeteci-ziya-ataman-in-basvurusunu-reddetti

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/02/anayasa-mahkemesi-gazeteci-ziya-atamanin-basvurusunu-reddetti/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Former TV10 staff members’ trial adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – The second hearing of the trial of two former employees of the shuttered TV station TV10, camera operator Kemal Demir and staff member Kemal Karagöz, took place in Istanbul. Both Demir and Karagöz are charged with “membership in a terrorist group” in the case, overseen by the 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Demir and Karagöz were taken into custody in December 2017. At the end of the detention period, Demir was jailed pending trial while Karagöz was released under judicial control measures. The first hearing of their trial took place on 3 July 2018, but the 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled at the end of the hearing to send the case file to a criminal court in the southern city of Mersin on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction over the case. However, the Mersin court also ruled that it had no jurisdiction and the case file ended up at the Supreme Court of Appeals, which ruled that the original trial court had jurisdiction. The 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, reevaluating the case file after the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision, ruled on 8 February 2019 for Demir’s release pending trial.

The second hearing, where both Demir and Karagöz were in attendance, was monitored by Rebecca Harms, a German Member of the European Parliament (MEP), and International Press Institute (IPI).

In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for the continuation of Demir’s travel ban while lifting the judicial control measure imposed on Karagöz, P24 reported. The court granted both defendants exemption from personal appearance in the courtroom and adjourned the trial until 10 September 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123847116370083841

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378639/tv10-calisanlarinin-yargilandigi-dava-10-eylule-ertelendi

https://www.pirha.net/tv10-calisanlari-demir-ve-karagozun-durusmasi-10-eylule-ertelendi-video-170575.html/02/05/2019/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”“Bakur trial” adjourned until July” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – A trial where journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and filmmaker Çayan Demirel are charged with “propaganda” for a documentary they co-directed titled Bakur (“Nort”h in Kurdish) resumed in the southeastern city of Batman.

Both Mavioğlu and Demirel, as well as their lawyers, were in attendance at the sixth hearing in the trial overseen by the 2nd High Criminal Court of Batman. MPs Ayşe Acar Başaran and Ahmet Şık, representatives from the Association of Documentary Filmmakers of Turkey, journalists from the Altyazı film magazine, academics, filmmakers and stage actors were among those who came to Kurdish city to observe the hearing and lend support to Mavioğlu and Demirel.

At the beginning of the hearing, the judges announced that it had recently come to their attention that a separate criminal investigation into Mavioğlu on the charge of “propaganda” was under way in Ankara, P24 reported.

In their interim decision, the court ruled to inquire of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about the investigation into Mavioğlu and ask for a copy of the investigation file. The court also decided to grant additional time to the defendants for their statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion of the case and adjourned the trial until 18 July, when a verdict is expected.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123902975804678144

http://susma24.com/bakur-davasi-18-temmuza-ertelendi/

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/02/bakur-durusmasi-temmuza-kaldi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1560520560729-052775e3-ee0d-1″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Turkey: Press freedom violations April 2019

30 Apr 19 | Turkey, Turkey Incident Reports

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”32 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

UPDATE: Compensation case against journalist Uludağ sent to commercial court

30 April 2019 – A compensation case filed against journalist Alican Uludağ by the discount market chain BİM, seeking TL 250,000 in non-pecuniary damages for a news report Uludağ penned for the Cumhuriyet daily, got under way in an Istanbul court.  

BİM is accusing Uludağ of damaging the company’s brand through his report and two social media posts.

Uludağ’s lawyer addressed the Anadolu 9th Civil Court of First Instance during the hearing, explaining to the court that Uludağ’s tweets and his report were part of press freedom, P24 reported.

At the end of the hearing, the Anadolu 9th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that it had no jurisdiction over the case and sent the case file to a commercial court.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123119872710516738

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378539/gazeteci-alican-uludaga-acilan-tazminat-davasinda-gorevsizlik-karari

Categories: Subpoena / Court Order / Lawsuits

Source of violation: Subpoena / Court Order / Lawsuits

Yurt newspaper chief editor briefly detained

30 April 2019 – Ali Avcu, the editor-in-chief of Yurt newspaper, was taken into custody on at the Alibeyköy Police Station in Istanbul. Avcu was later referred to the Kartal Courthouse, where he was released after giving his statement. Avcu was detained on the grounds of a book he wrote in 2018, the newspaper reported.

Link(s):

http://www.yurtgazetesi.com.tr/medya/yurtboyunegmez-ali-avcu-serbest-birakildi-manidar-gerekce-h126485.html

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/yurt-gazetesi-genel-yayin-yonetmeni-ali-avcu-serbest-birakildi/

https://tr.sputniknews.com/turkiye/201904301038902118-yurt-gazetesi-genel-yayin-yonetmeni-avcu-gozaltina-alindi/

Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation

Source of violation: Police / State security

UPDATE: Court keeps Adil Demirci’s travel ban in place

30 April 2019 – Etkin news agency (ETHA) reporter Adil Demirci appeared before an Istanbul court for his trial on the charges of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” This was the fifth hearing in the case, overseen by the 25th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

Demirci, who also holds a German passport, is among 23 defendants in the case. Of the 23, four are in pre-trial detention. Demirci was released at the end of the previous hearing in February.

During the hearing, which was also observed by representatives from the German Consulate-General in Istanbul, the prosecutor asked the court to release the remaining jailed defendants based on available evidence and the time they spent in detention.

The presiding judge asked Demirci about a criminal intelligence report alleging that Demirci “went to Syria and Iraq as a courier.” Demirci denied the allegation and told the court that he has never been to Syria or Iraq. His lawyer Keleş Öztürk said the intelligence report about Demirci was an unlawfully drafted document and should therefore be removed from the case file.

Demirci also requested the court to lift his travel ban. The court refused to lift the judicial control measures imposed on Demirci and adjourned the trial until 15 October 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123191447056994307

https://www.dw.com/en/german-turkish-journalist-adil-demirci-forced-to-stay-in-turkey/a-48556233

https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2019-04/adil-demirci-tuerkei-terrorvorwurf-sozialarbeiter-koeln-prozess-heimreise

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Ahmet Altan acquitted in lawsuit filed by former chief of general staff

26 April 2019 – Two separate lawsuits where imprisoned journalist and author Ahmet Altan is accused of “insult,” “attempting to influence trial process,” and “violation of confidentiality” were heard at the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

The court first heard the lawsuit where Altan is accused of “violating the confidentiality of an investigation”and “attempting to influence courtroom proceedings” for his article titled “Mafyanın dışında kim kaldı” (Who is left other than the mafia), published in 2009 in the Taraf daily, which was closed down during the State of Emergency.

Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the judge said the case would be dismissed on the condition that a judicial fine worth a total of TL 1,061 is paid within 10 days, P24 reported. The court postponed the trial until 25 June.

The court later heard the second lawsuit, which was filed by İlker Başbuğ, the former chief of General Staff. Altan was charged with “insult” in the case, which concerned an article he wrote in 2010 in the Taraf daily. The court acquitted Altan of the charge, ruling that the legal elements of the crime were not present.

Link(s):

https://expressioninterrupted.com/ahmet-altan-acquitted-in-lawsuit-filed-by-former-chief-of-general-staff/

https://t24.com.tr/haber/ahmet-altan-ilker-basbug-un-actigi-hakaret-davasindan-beraat-etti,818520

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378217/ahmet-altan-hakaret-suclamasindan-beraat-etti

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

İlave TV reporter to stand trial for “insulting Erdoğan”

26 April 2019 – Arif Kocabıyık, a reporter for the online broadcaster İlave TV, will be standing trial on the charge of “insulting a public official” over a social media post he shared during the time when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was Turkey’s Prime Minister. The trial was launched over his comment in which he said “crocodile tears” under a picture of Erdoğan.

Kocabıyık told BirGün daily that the initial allegation in the investigation was “insulting the president” although Erdoğan was prime minister at the time. He said the allegation was later changed to “insulting a public official.”

Kocabıyık’s trial will begin on 26 September 2019.

Link(s):

https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/ilave-tv-muhabirine-erdogana-hakaretten-sorusturma.html

http://www.diken.com.tr/erdogana-hakarette-bugun-timsah-gozyaslari-yorumuna-dava/

https://www.abcgazetesi.com/bir-erdogana-hakaret-davasi-da-ilave-tv-muhabirine-11580

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Former Cumhuriyet staff members sent back to prison

25 April 2019 – Six former staff members of the Cumhuriyet daily returned to prison on to serve the remainder of the sentences they were given last year in the lengthy “Cumhuriyet trial.”

The 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul had convicted former columnists and executives of the newspaper on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” last year at the end of the trial. In February 2019, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice rejected the appeals against the verdict, thus finalizing the proceedings against eight of the defendants with sentences under 5 years in prison. Cases of defendants with sentences over 5 years in prison will be further reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The trial court issued an order for the execution of the eight sentences on Thursday, issuing arrest warrants for Güray Öz, Önder Çelik, Musa Kart, Hakan Kara, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Bülent Utku and Emre İper. The prosecution issued a summons for Kadri Gürsel. Öz, Çelik, Kart, Kara, Güngör and İper reported to the Kocaeli Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, from where they were sent to the Kandıra Prison.

Link(s):

https://medyascope.tv/2019/04/25/cumhuriyet-gazetesinin-eski-calisanlari-yeniden-cezaevinde/

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378169/eski-cumhuriyet-calisanlari-yeniden-cezaevine-girdi

https://www.dw.com/tr/cumhuriyet-%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9Fanlar%C4%B1-yeniden-cezaevinde-ho%C5%9F%C3%A7akal%C4%B1n/a-48490879

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

Journalist Erk Acarer faces investigation: report

25 April 2019 – A  newspaper report claimed that an investigation was under way against journalist Erk Acarer, who works for daily Birgün and private broadcaster Artı TV. Acarer is allegedly accused of “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” on social media.

The Sabah daily, owned by Serhat Albayrak – the brother of Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak –  reported that police drafted a criminal complaint concerning Acarer’s social media accounts after a tip-off. The complaint was sent to the prosecutor’s office, who decided to launch an investigation into Acarer, the report claimed.

Link(s):

https://www.sabah.com.tr/gundem/2019/04/25/birgun-yazarina-sorusturma

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378129/sabah-birgun-yazari-erk-acarere-sorusturma-baslatildigini-iddia-etti

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/gazeteci-erk-acarer-hakkinda-sorusturma-baslatildi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Cem Şimşek’s trial adjourned until September

25 April 2019 – A trial in which Cem Şimşek, the former responsible managing editor of the Evrensel daily, stands accused of “defaming” and “insulting” Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak resumed in Istanbul.

Şimşek and his lawyers were in attendance at the third hearing in the case, overseen by the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The accusations stem from a news story published in Evrensel on 14 July 2018.

Addressing the court for his defense statement, Şimşek said that the newspaper ran a proper rebuttal as requested by the plaintiff, daily Evrensel reported. He added that the news article consisted of remarks by an expert in economics and did not include any insulting expressions. Şimşek asked the court to consider the new article a part of the public’s right to information and requested to be acquitted.

The court adjourned the trial until 12 September, granting additional time to Şimşek’s lawyers to produce a hard copy of the newspaper in which the said rebuttal was published.

Link(s):

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378139/gazeteci-cem-simsek-albayraka-hakaret-iddiasina-yanit-verdi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Government / State Agency / Public official(s) / Political party

UPDATE: Çiğdem Toker faces lawsuit filed by Turkey’s postal services

25 April 2019 – A lawsuit filed against economy journalist Çiğdem Toker by Turkey’s postal service PTT resumed in an Ankara court, RSF Turkey reported. The PTT is seeking TL 50,000 in non-pecuniary damages in the lawsuit, based on a column Toker wrote in April 2018 for the Cumhuriyet daily.

The Ankara 20th Civil Court of First Instance adjourned the trial until 11 June 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/RSF_tr/status/1121376221697327104

Categories: Subpoena / Court Order / Lawsuits

Source of violation: Corporation / Company

UPDATE: Court keeps journalist İsminaz Temel’s travel ban in place

24 April 2019 – A trial where 23 defendants, including Etkin news agency (ETHA) editor İsminaz Temel and reporter Havva Cuştan, face terrorism-related charges resumed in an Istanbul court.

Journalists Temel and Cuştan and several of their co-defendants as well as defense lawyers were in attendance, P24 reported. Cuştan had remained in pre-trial detention for nine months and Temel for 16 months as part of the case before being released by the court.

Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled to release Coşkun Yiğit and Erkan Kakça from pre-trial detention. With the decision, none of the 23 defendant remain in pre-trial jail. The court, however, rejected the requests to lift the judicial control measures imposed on Temel and her co-defendants, adjourning the trial until 3 September 2019.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1120947761933889536

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378072/espli-erkan-kakca-ve-coskun-yigit-tahliye-edildi

https://mezopotamyaajansi17.com/tum-haberler/content/view/55354

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Prosecutor seeks conviction for eight defendants in “Sözcü trial”

18 April 2019 – The seventh hearing in the “Sözcü trial,” where a total of nine columnists, executives and editors of the newspaper stand took place at the 37th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. In the indictment prepared by the prosecutor the defendants are accused of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member.”

The judges announced that the prosecution submitted their final opinion of the case on 17 April, only a day before the hearing, P24 reported. According to the document the prosecutor is seeking up to 10 years in prison for Emin Çölaşan, Necati Doğru, Gökmen Ulu, Metin Yılmaz, Mustafa Çetin, Yücel Arı and Yonca Yücekaleli for “knowingly and willingly aiding the ‘FETÖ/PDY’ without being part of its hierarchical structure.” FETÖ/PDY stands for “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure,” the name given by the Turkish government to the religious Fethullah Gülen network.

The prosecution asked the court to apply “effective remorse” provisions in the sentence they sought for Mediha Olgun. The prosecutor lastly requested the court to separate the file against Burak Akbay, the former publisher of Sözcü who is currently overseas and sought for with an arrest warrant, on the grounds that he had yet to make his defense statement.

In its interim decision, the court rejected the defense lawyers’ requests for further investigation; ruled to keep the arrest warrant for Akbay in place; and adjourned the trial until 14 June.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1118767339707740160

https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2019/gundem/gazetecilik-yargilaniyor-4469408/

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/sozcu-gazetesi-davasinda-savci-mutalaasini-verdi-41186629

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Journalist Kibriye Evren ordered to remain behind bars

16 April 2019 – The trial into jailed journalist Kibriye Evren on terrorism-related charges resumed in a Diyarbakır court, online news website Gazete Karınca reported.

This was the fourth hearing in the case, overseen by the 5th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır. Evren, who is jailed in the Diyarbakır Prison and has been in a hunger strike for 122 days, did not attend the hearing.

In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ordered the continuation of Evren’s pre-trial detention and adjourned her trial until 7 May.

Link(s):

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/aclik-grevindeki-gazeteci-kibriye-evrene-tahliye-yok/

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/04/16/122-gundur-aclik-grevinde-olan-gazeteci-evren-tahliye-edilmedi/

https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/86270/gazeteci-kibriye-evren-tahliye-edilmedi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: “Redhack trial” into 6 journalists adjourned until September

16 April 2019 – The “RedHack trial,” where six journalists stand accused of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “hindrance or destruction of a data processing system,” “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” and “terrorist group membership” for their coverage concerning the emails of Minister Berat Albayrak leaked by RedHack, resumed at an Istanbul court.

Journalists Derya Okatan, Tunca Öğreten, Mahir Kanaat, Eray Sargın, Metin Yoksu and Ömer Çelik stand accused in the case, overseen by the 29th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.

The presiding judge announced during the hearing that a case file relating to an investigation launched against Çelik in 2015 by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has been merged with the present case and a new indictment has been issued. In the new indictment, Çelik is accused of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group” for his social media posts in 2015.

In its interim ruling, the court accepted Yoksu and Okatan’s requests to be held exempt from appearing in court, but rejected the same request from Ömer Çelik on the grounds that he had yet to make his defense statement in relation to the new case file. The court set 24 September as the date for the next hearing.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1118042549845934081

https://t24.com.tr/haber/red-hack-davasinda-yedinci-durusma-gazetecilik-faaliyetlerimden-dolayi-yargilaniyorum,817099

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/davanin-hukuki-temeli-cokmustur-redhack-davasinda-bilirkisi-raporu-mahkemeye-ulasti/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Prosecutor seeks sentence for P24 founding President Hasan Cemal

16 April 2019 – P24’s Founding President and T24 columnist Hasan Cemal appeared in an Istanbul court for the second hearing of his trial on the charge of “propaganda” for a column he wrote on 4 December 2015.

Submitting his final opinion, the prosecutor requested Cemal to be convicted for the alleged crime of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization,” P24 reported.

Accepting the request by Cemal and his lawyer for a continuance to prepare their final defense statement, the 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul adjourned the trial until 7 May.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1118029850034438144

https://t24.com.tr/haber/hasan-cemal-hakkinda-acilan-dava-ertelendi,817017

https://www.dw.com/tr/gazeteci-hasan-cemal-hakk%C4%B1nda-hapis-talebi/a-48348929

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Journalist Gökhan Öner given 10-month sentence on “propaganda” charge

15 April 2019 – The final hearing of a trial where journalist Gökhan Öner, a former reporter for the shuttered Dicle news agency (DİHA), was accused of terrorism related charges, took place in the western Anatolian town of Denizli.

The prosecutor submitted their final opinion of the case during the hearing, in which they requested Öner to be acquitted of the “terrorist group membership” charge due to insufficient evidence, but asked the 2nd High Criminal Court of Denizli to convict the journalist of the “propaganda” charge on account of his reporting for DİHA.

Issuing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the 2nd High Criminal Court of Denizli acquitted Öner of the “membership” charge but found him guilty of “propagandası” and sentenced him to 10 months in prison, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The court deferred Öner’s sentence by five years.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/54381?page=5

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/gazeteci-gokhan-onere-10-ay-hapis-cezasi/

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/377527/gazeteci-gokhan-onere-10-ay-hapis

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Özgür Gündem solidarity trial adjourned

15 April 2019 – The 10th hearing in a trial where Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı, the president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and journalist-writer Ahmet Nesin stand accused of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “incitement to commit crime” and “praising crime and criminals” for joining in the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign for the shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper was held.

Erol Önderoğlu made his defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion during the hearing, P24 reported.

In their interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul granted additional time for the preparation of the remaining defense statements; accepted Önderoğlu’s request to be held exempt from appearing in court, and adjourned the trial until 17 July.

Link(s):

https://expressioninterrupted.com/ozgur-gundem-solidarity-trial-adjourned/

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1117678855379214336

https://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/207477-onderoglu-we-give-2-5-years-of-our-lives-to-an-indictment-prepared-in-one-day

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

Columnist fired after calling Minister of Finance to resign

11 April 2019 – Hüsamettin Aslan, a columnist for the conservative Milat daily, was dismissed after calling the Minister of Treasury and Finance, Berat Albayrak, to resign. Albayrak, who took over all functions previously performed by two separate ministers in the new cabinet announced on July 2018, is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law.

“Milat has decided to stop publishing my columns after the comment I made on social media arguing that ‘Berat Albayrak should resign,’” Aslan said according to online platform against censorship Susma’s report. “The criticism against this intra-family reorganization, vocally denounced inside the AKP’s [Justice and Development Party] base, has spread to the streets. As Turkey is giving a struggle for survival, criticizing this nonsense in a polite manner and explaining it with a constructive disapproval was necessary,” he said.

Link(s):

http://susma24.com/milatta-iktidari-elestiren-aslanin-yazilarina-son/

https://t24.com.tr/haber/berat-albayrak-istifa-etmeli-diyen-yazar-kovuldu,816507

https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/albayraka-istifa-et-dedi-gazeteden-kovuldu-230275h.htm

Categories: Other Serious Issues (Dismissal)

Source of violation: Employer / Publisher / Colleague(s)

UPDATE: Austrian journalist Max Zirngast appears in first courtroom hearing

11 April 2019 – The first courtroom hearing in the trial of Austrian journalist and academic researcher Max Zirngast took place in Ankara.

Zirngast, who was arrested in the Turkish capital in September 2018, remained in detention on remand for three months before being released pending trial in late December. The 26th High Criminal Court of Ankara, which is overseeing the trial, had imposed on Zirngast and his co-defendants an international travel ban.

Zirngast and his co-defendants Mithatcan Türetken, Hatice Göz and Burçin Tekdemir are accused of “membership in a terrorist group” on the allegation that they are linked with the organization “TKP/Kıvılcım,” a fraction that broke off from the Communist Party.

All four defendants and their lawyers were in attendance at the first hearing, DW reported. Addressing the court for their defense statements, the defendants rejected the accusations.

Issuing an interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for the continuation of the international travel ban imposed on the defendants and adjourned the trial until 11 September.

Link(s):

https://www.dw.com/cda/tr/zirngast%C4%B1n-yurtd%C4%B1%C5%9F%C4%B1na-%C3%A7%C4%B1k%C4%B1%C5%9F-yasa%C4%9F%C4%B1-devam-edecek/a-48282679

https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/85208/avusturyali-gazeteci-zirngastin-davasi-basladi

https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/352764.t%C3%BCrkei-prozess-gegen-max-zirngast-beginnt.html

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Deniz Yücel’s trial adjourned until July

11 April 2019 – The trial of Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel, the former Turkey correspondent of the German newspaper Die Welt, resumed on 11 April in Istanbul. Yücel is charged with “disseminating propaganda for FETÖ/PDY and PKK/KCK” and “inciting the public to hatred and animosity.”

Yücel was represented by his lawyer Veysel Ok during the third hearing in the case, overseen by the 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. Ok told the court that Yücel was scheduled to make his defense statement on 10 May in Berlin and requested a continuance until after Yücel’s statement is heard, P24 reported. Accepting the lawyer’s request, the court adjourned the trial until 16 July.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1116255166968233990

https://bianet.org/english/law/207375-journalist-deniz-yucel-to-testify-in-berlin-in-may

https://www.dw.com/tr/deniz-y%C3%BCcel-davas%C4%B1-11-nisana-ertelendi/a-46815700

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Local journalists, politician acquitted in “incitement” case

10 April 2019 – A trial where journalists from two local newspapers in the Aegean town of Didim stood accused of “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” for publishing a press statement by local representatives from Turkey’s Labour Party (EMEP) resumed.

Mustafa Öge, the owner of the newspaper Didim Özgürses, Ergün Korkmaz, who owns the newspaper Mavi Didim, Erdem Özden, a reporter for the latter, along with the district chair of EMEP, Kazım Temiz, were all acquitted at the end of the fourth hearing. The case was overseen by the 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Didim.

The trial was launched over the publication of a statement by EMEP on Turkey’s military operation on the Syrian city of Afrin on January 2018.

Link(s):

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/377248/emep-aciklamasini-yayimladiklari-icin-yargilanan-gazetecilere-beraat

https://tihv.org.tr/11-nisan-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/

http://www.dusun-think.net/dosya/bulten/19041215-19-haftalik-du776s807u776nce-o776zgu776rlu776g774u776-bu776lteni.pdf

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Court rules for publisher’s release in Özgür Gündem trial

10 April 2019 – The “Özgür Gündem main trial,” where nine defendants stand accused of “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state” and “membership in a terrorist organization,” resumed on at the Istanbul courthouse.

This was the 12th hearing in the case, which is overseen by the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. Keskin and the newspaper’s jailed publisher Sancılı were in attendance, P24 reported. Sancılı was brought from the a prison in the city of Edirne, where he is currently serving a previous sentence.

Issuing an interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for Sancılı’s release. However, Sancılı will remain in prison because of a previous sentence. The court also ruled to hand over the case file to the prosecution for the drafting of their final opinion and adjourned the trial until 3 July.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1115857405387186179

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/ozgur-gundemin-imtiyaz-sahibi-kemal-sancili-hakkinda-tahliye-karari/

https://t24.com.tr/haber/kapatilan-ozgur-gundem-in-imtiyaz-sahibi-kemal-sancili-hakkinda-tahliye-karar,816216

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Two Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editors released

10 April 2019 – The fourth hearing in the trial into 14 employees of the shuttered daily Özgürlükçü Demokrasi on terrorism-related charges took place at the Istanbul courthouse.

The pro-Kurdish newspaper’s publisher İhsan Yaşar, responsible managing editor İshak Yasul, editors Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hicran Urun were in attendance as well as unjailed defendants Pınar Tarlak and Ramazan Sola. The newspaper’s editor Reyhan Hacıoğlu, who has also been jailed pending trial since April 2018, did not attend, P24 reported.

The prosecutor submitted his final opinion of the case during the hearing, asking the court to convict Urun, Çelebi, Tarlak, Yasul, Yaşar and Hacıoğlu of “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” “successively publishing terrorist group publications” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The prosecutor requested that Ramazan Sola and Mizgin Fendik be convicted of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member.”

The prosecution requested the continuation of the detention of all jailed defendants.

Issuing an interim decision at the end of the hearing, the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled to release Yasul and Urun pending the conclusion of the trial and set 28 June as the date for the next hearing in the case.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1115927899637469184

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/ozgurlukcu-demokrasi-davasinda-iki-tahliye-karari/

https://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/207337-gazeteciler-ishak-yasul-ve-hicran-urun-tahliye-edildi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

Jailed publisher Mehmet Ali Genç acquitted in “propaganda” case

9 April 2019 – Mehmet Ali Genç, the publisher and former managing editor of Varyos Publications, appeared in an Istanbul court for the fourth hearing of his trial on the charges of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group” and “praising crime or a criminal.” The charges stemmed from an article Genç had penned for the women’s magazine Sosyalist Kadın.

Genç was brought to the Istanbul Courthouse for the 9 April hearing, overseen by the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. He was accompanied by his lawyer Kader Tonç.

Genç is currently imprisoned in Adana, serving three separate convictions from previous trials where the accusations stemmed from his time as the responsible managing editor of the leftist Atılım newspaper, his lawyer told P24.

Rendering its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to drop the “propaganda” charge against Genç based on the statute of limitations in Turkey’s press law, and acquitted Genç of the “praising crime or a criminal” charge.

Link(s):

http://www.etha6.com/Haberler/mehmet-ali-genc-hakkinda-beraat-karari/9/11593

https://tihv.org.tr/10-nisan-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

Detained journalist Oktay Candemir released on bail

7 April 2019 – Journalist Oktay Candemir, who was arrested during a police raid on his apartment in the eastern province of Van, was released from custody on 7 April. Candemir, who was brought to the Van courthouse following his interrogation at the local police department, was referred to a court by a prosecutor who requested the journalist to be jailed pending trial on the charge of “terrorist group membership.” Candemir was released by the court under judicial control measures.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/53544?page=3

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/gazeteci-oktay-candemir-serbest-birakildi/

https://www.artigercek.com/haberler/gazeteci-oktay-candemir-serbest-birakildi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Diyarbakır-based journalist Sertaç Kayar’s trial adjourned until June

5 April 2019 – A trial in which freelance journalist Sertaç Kayar faces up to 22 years in prison on the charge of “establishing and leading a terrorist organization” resumed at the 10th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.

Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court adjourned the trial until 26 June, P24 reported. The court said it would await the testimony of a witness mentioned in the case file, which will be heard by a High Criminal Court in the central Anatolian province of Çorum.

This was the third hearing in the case, where Kayar is accused based on his coverage of demonstrations and public statements in Diyarbakır.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1114057233548107776

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Editor Haydar Ergül released after 15 months in pre-trial detention

5 April 2019 – A trial in which Haydar Ergül, an editor with the periodical Demokratik Modernite is among 19 defendants, resumed in Istanbul.

Ergül, who had been in detention on remand since January 2018, is charged with “membership in a terrorist group” in the case overseen by the 22nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. Among Ergül’s co-defendants in the case are members and administrators of People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP).

Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for Ergül’s release pending the conclusion of the trial, P24 reported. Judicial control measures were imposed on Ergül in the form of an international travel ban and reporting to the nearest police station once a month to give his signature. The court set 28 June as the date for the next hearing.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1114148084219564032

https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/15-aydir-tutukluydu-gazeteci-haydar-ergul-tahliye-edildi/

http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/53381

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Alican Uludağ and Duygu Güvenç’s trial adjourned

4 April 2019 – The second hearing of a trial where journalists Alican Uludağ and Duygu Güvenç stand accused of “publicly degrading the judiciary” took place at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul.

Uludağ and Güvenç are accused on account of their reporting in the Cumhuriyet newspaper on the developments surrounding US pastor Andrew Brunson, who remained in detention in Turkey for two years before being released in October.

The trial was adjourned until 20 June because the judge was on leave, P24 reported.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1113695298084380673

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Libel case against Çiğdem Toker to continue in July

4 April 2019 – Çiğdem Toker, a prominent economy columnist for the Sözcü daily, appeared before an Ankara court on 4 April for the second hearing of a lawsuit filed by a Turkish mining company. The company, Şenbay Madencilik, is seeking a record TL 1.5 million in compensation for a column Toker penned for the Cumhuriyet daily in October 2017.

Toker and her lawyer were in attendance for the hearing at the 13th Civil Court of First Instance of Ankara. In their interim ruling, the court decided to request from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure the official records of the tender Toker wrote about in her column, online news website T24 reported, and adjourned the lawsuit until 9 July.

Link(s):

https://t24.com.tr/haber/cigdem-toker-e-acilan-1-5-milyon-liralik-tazminat-davasi-basladi,815356

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/376920/gazeteci-cigdem-tokerin-davasi-9-temmuza-ertelendi

https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/83431/cigdem-tokere-acilan-tazminat-davasinda-yeni-gelisme

Categories: Subpoena / Court Order / Lawsuits

Source of violation: Corporation / Company

UPDATE: Journalist Ayşegül Doğan’s trial adjourned until September

3 April 2019 – The trial of journalist Ayşegül Doğan, a former program coordinator for the shuttered television station İMC TV, who is charged with “establishing or leading an armed organization,” resumed at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, online news website Gazete Karınca reported.

This was the second hearing in the case, where Doğan’s interviews as a journalist with DTK administrators are held as evidence against her. The court adjourned the trial until 11 September, awaiting a comparative forensic examination of audio recordings in the case file and a sample of Doğan’s voice.

Link(s):

http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/04/gazeteci-aysegul-doganin-davasi-ertelendi/

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/376881/gazeteci-aysegul-doganin-ses-kayit-ornekleri-alinacak

https://jinnews.com.tr/TUM-HABERLER/content/view/106937

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

UPDATE: Evrensel columnist Karataş’s trial adjourned until September

3 April 2019 – Yusuf Karataş, a columnist for Evrensel daily, appeared in a Diyarbakır court for the fifth hearing of his trial on the charge of “establishing and leading a terrorist group.”

Karataş faces up to 22.5 years in prison in the trial, one of many similar criminal cases where the accusations stem from audio recordings of speeches delivered by participants during Democratic Society Congress (DTK) rallies. Karataş was arrested and jailed pending trial in July 2017 as part of an investigation into DTK. He was released pending trial in September 2017.

Karataş requested the court to lift his international travel ban because it prevented him from attending international events he is invited as a politician and a columnist.

In its interim ruling, the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır rejected Karataş’s request and adjourned the trial until 11 September, awaiting the completion of the forensic examination of audio tapes by the Council of Forensic Medicine in Istanbul.

Link(s):

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1113326549107912704

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/376866/yazarimiz-yusuf-karatasin-yurt-disi-yasagi-yine-kaldirilmadi

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/04/03/yusuf-karatasin-yurtdisi-yasagi-kaldirilmadi/

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

 

Mezopotamya Agency reporter Ahmet Kanbal briefly detained

 

3 April 2019 – Mezopotamya news agency reporter Ahmet Kanbal was taken into custody in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province while covering a news story, the agency reported.

Kanbal was reportedly arrested because he had failed to show up to give his defense statement as part of a court case. Kanbal was released later in the day by the Nusaybin 1st Criminal Court of First Instance after giving his statement.

Link(s):

http://mezopotamyaajansi17.com/tum-haberler/content/view/53013

https://twitter.com/dokuz8haber/status/1113363004714676224

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/376862/gozaltina-alinan-ma-muhabiri-ahmet-kanbal-serbest-birakildi

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial

 

Nine journalists sentenced for solidarity with Özgür Gündem

 

3 April 2019 – The court announced its verdict at the end of the 11th hearing in the trial of 13 defendants accused of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” for participating in the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign to show solidarity with the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was closed down in 2016.

The final hearing of the trial took place on 3 April at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.

The court convicted journalists Hüseyin Aykol, Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Fehim Işık, Celal Başlangıç, Öncü Akgül, İhsan Çaralan, Celalettin Can and Dilşah Kocakaya of the “propaganda” charge and sentenced them to a total of 14 years and 3 months in prison, P24 reported. The court deferred the sentences of six defendants while Akyol, Can and Kocakaya’s sentences were not deferred.

Following the completion of the defense statements, the court went on to issue its verdict in which it found nine defendants guilty of the “propaganda” charge.

The newspaper’s former co-editor-in-chief Hüseyin Akyol was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison for “successively disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Aykol’s co-defendants Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Fehim Işık, Celal Başlangıç, Öncü Akgül, İhsan Çaralan and Celalettin Can were each sentenced to a prison term of 1 year and 3 months. All sentences except the one imposed on Celalettin Can were deferred.

The court acquitted Mehmet Şirin Taşdemir, Ömer Ağın, Veysel Kemer and Yüksel Oğuz, who were on trial for the letters they sent to Özgür Gündem from prison, which the newspaper had published. The court also convicted Dilşah Kocakaya of the “propaganda” charge and imposed on Kocakaya a 15-month sentence.

The sentences will be reviewed by an appellate court.

Link(s): https://www.evrensel.net/haber/376875/ozgur-gundem-nobetci-genel-yayin-yonetmenligi-davasinda-ceza-yagdi

https://medyascope.tv/2019/04/03/ozgur-gundem-nobetci-genel-yayin-yonetmenleri-davasinda-gazetecilere-ceza-yagdi/

http://bianet.org/bianet/medya/207080-nobetci-yayin-yonetmenleri-davasinda-9-kisiye-hapis-cezasi

https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1113322983588757504

Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences

Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1560788183498-bc033ae0-97c7-7″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Turkey’s judicial system: Under the government’s thumb

25 Apr 18 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”100019″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]In the wake of the 15 July 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has become a “de facto permanent” emergency regime. The state of emergency, which has been extended six times, has become a convenient pretext for the government to crack down on freedom of expression.

The resultant purge has had draconian impacts: 5,822 academics sacked, 189 media outlets shuttered and 319 journalists arrested or prosecuted. The country’s judicial system has been decimated, with 4,560 judges and prosecutors dismissed. The government’s near-complete takeover of the judiciary and its direct defiance of the rule of law has debased freedom of expression in the country.

Examples of how the executive arm of the Turkish government is pulling the strings of the judiciary are not hard to find.

“Public indignation”

On 31 March 2017, the chief judge and two members of the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court, who ordered the release of 21 journalists, and the prosecutor, who requested the releases, were suspended and later faced a disciplinary hearing. The 21 journalists were kept waiting in a prison van until a new arrest and detention order was issued by another court, which was under an onslaught of attacks from pro-government social media accounts.

Judicial Council deputy president Mehmet Yilmaz explained the reasoning behind the suspension of the judges: “The evidence has not been collected…and the release decision issued…has caused public indignation and harmed public conscience.”

If members of the judiciary can be suspended because their decision has caused “public indignation and harmed public conscience”, this suggests that judges in Turkey are without any protection from external pressures.

In another case, on 31 January 2018, a court ordered the release of Amnesty International’s Turkey chair Taner Kilic, but just hours later another demanded his re-arrest. Amnesty’s secretary general Salil Shetty said: “Over the last 24 hours, we have borne witness to a travesty of justice of spectacular proportions. To have been granted release only to have the door to freedom so callously slammed in his face is devastating for Taner, his family and all who stand for justice in Turkey.”

Taner’s renewed detention came after a decision from the Istanbul trial court to conditionally release him before his trial. However, after the prosecutor appealed, a second court in Istanbul accepted this appeal and quashed Taner’s release.

“I do not know why I was imprisoned a year ago and why I was released”

In another example of government interference, Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yücel, who reported for Die Welt newspaper, was arrested on 27 February 2017 in Istanbul. At the time, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, summarised the accusations against Yücel saying: “He is not a correspondent; he is a terrorist. … This person hid in German consulate for a month as a representative of PKK, as a German spy. We have recordings, everything. This is the very spy terrorist.”

Erdogan also reportedly said that Yücel would not be released so long as he was the president. Yücel’s detention continued for almost a year without charge.

On the eve of his official trip to Germany on 15 February 2018, prime minister Binali Yildirim responded to protests and open requests from the German government for Yucel’s release. He said: “I think that a development will take place soon.” In a joint press conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel on 15 February 2018, he said: “What is necessary shall be done within the scope of the rule of law; what is required of us is to clear the way for the courts. … I hope that the trial will take place within a short time and a result will be achieved.”

On 16 February 2018 the Istanbul High Criminal Court accepted an indictment against Yücel that sought an 18-year sentence, yet the court also simultaneously ordered his release. Yücel flew to Germany on the same day. No international travel ban was imposed, despite the high sentence the prosecutor was demanding, which is the regular practice in “terror” related cases.

After his release, Yücel reported that he was given a 13 February 2018 ruling by the Third Criminal Peace Judgeship which detailed an order for his continued detention. “I am free despite this. I do not know why I was imprisoned a year ago and why I was released today. Is it not strange? Anyway, it does not matter. After all, I know that neither my jailing — more precisely my being taken as a hostage a year ago — nor my release today is in accordance with the rule of law at all. I know this very well.”

It’s clear that Yücel’s release and ability to leave the country were the result of political deals and the high criminal court was taking orders from the executive branch of government.

“Attempting to overthrow the constitutional order”

Within hours after Yücel’s release, six other individuals, including five journalists, were issued life sentences for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order”. Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazli Ilicak, Yakup Şimşek, Fevzi Yazıcı and Şükrü Tuğrul Özsengül were all handed sentences after being convicted of involvement with the attempted coup, despite a clear lack of direct evidence.

“The court decision condemning journalists to aggravated life in prison for their work, without presenting substantial proof of their involvement in the coup attempt or ensuring a fair trial, critically threatens journalism and with it the remnants of freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey,” said David Kaye, the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.

The constitutional court decided on 11 January 2018 that the freedom of expression and liberty of the two journalists Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay had been violated. Following the decision, deputy prime minister and government spokesperson Bekir Bozdağ stated on his Twitter account that the constitutional court had overstepped its boundary drawn up by the constitution and legislation. Under pressure from the government, the decisions made in the cases of Alpay and Altan were not implemented by Istanbul courts. This was due to almost the same reasoning as used by the government spokesperson.

Despite the dictum that the court’s decisions are final and binding on the legislative, executive and judicial matters, the courts of the first instance have not implemented the decision.

Another disappointment for the freedom of all arrested journalists

In another case, after an application by journalist Sahin Alpay, the constitutional court delivered the decision on 19 March 2018 that found Alpay’s rights were violated under the European Convention on Human Rights. By contrast, the Istanbul court followed the ruling this time and issued Alpay’s conditional release. Surprisingly, nothing was heard from the executive on this occasion. This development has been regarded by some as the government’s tactical move to avoid a possible European Court of Human Rights ruling on related pending cases to the effect that the constitutional court is not an effective remedy.

Turkish human rights lawyer Kerem Altıparmak tweeted that the Turkish government’s move was intended to send a message to the ECtHR that the constitutional court is a viable domestic remedy. Yaman Akdeniz, another prominent law professor and rights defender, said that ECtHR’s rejection of examination of the cases of journalists relying on the Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights is another disappointment for the freedom of all arrested journalists.

“A disgrace to Turkey’s justice system”

On 9 March 2018 a Turkish court sentenced 25 journalists to imprisonment on the grounds of allegedly being members of a terrorist organisation. The prosecutor’s primary evidence was that the journalists had criticised the Turkish government and Erdogan on social media. On these charges, 23 of the accused journalists were given between two and seven years in prison. Nina Ognianova, the Committee to Protect Journalists Europe and Central Asia programme co-ordinator, described the decision as “a disgrace to Turkey’s justice system”. She called on authorities to drop the charges on appeal.

The judiciary’s exposure to outside influences and pressures have turned the Turkish judicial system into a nightmare for journalists, academics, rights defenders, philanthropists and even judges themselves.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1524736212391-dfe96d06-6795-2″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]