Journalists in State of Emergency – 123

 Bedran Babat and Mustafa Ece, two reporters for the shuttered Dicle news agency (DİHA), each received suspended prison sentences on February 23, 2018, for “publicly insulting a civil servant” in a 2015 news report.
 
Babat and Ece were among four journalists standing trial — alongside DİHA Executive Board Chairperson Zekeriya Gözüpek and reporter Ferhat Çelik — in the case, where the fifth suspect was Nezahat Sümer, a former Gevaş provincial co-chair for the People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
 
The case was based on a news report titled “Gevaş Emniyeti seçmenleri fişliyor” (Gevaş police profiling voters) and dated June 2, 2015.
 
The Gevaş Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Babat and Sümer to six months in prison, granting a reduction of one month to each sentence and suspending the sentences by five years while acquitting the rest of the suspects.
 
Police raid Sendika.org editor Çağlar Özbilgin’s house
 
Police raided Sendika.org editor Çağlar Özbilgin’s house in Ankara on February 22. Özbilgin, who was not in the house during the early morning raid was not taken into custody but police searched his house in the presence of his relatives.
 
Lawyers for Sendika.org said the allegation against Özbilgin was “membership in a terrorist organization” on account of his social media posts regarding Turkey’s ongoing military operation on the Syrian town of Afrin.
 
New indictment issued against Dihaber reporter Keleş
 
A new indictment has been issued against Selman Keleş, a former reporter for the shuttered Dicle media news agency (Dihaber), the Mezopotamya news agency reported on February 23.
 
The news came as Keleş and fellow journalist Arif Aslan appeared as co-defendants before the 5th High Criminal Court of Van on February 22 at the second hearing of an ongoing trial on “membership in a terrorist organization” charges.
 
The new indictment, issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Van, accuses Keleş of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” and involves a number of Keleş’s social media posts in which he shared news reports from various dates and by various news outlets, including the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
 
The indictment, which mentions the ongoing case against Keleş and Aslan, was accepted by the court, which ruled to merge the two case files.
 
During the February 22 hearing, both Keleş and Aslan rejected the accusations against them. The journalists’ lawyer requested the lifting of the judicial control terms imposed on Keleş and Aslan, who were released pending trial on November 21, 2017, during the first hearing of their trial, after around eight months of pretrial detention.
 
The court rejected the lawyer’s request and adjourned the trial to June 5.
 
Defense statements in “FETÖ media” trial to continue in March
 
The 25th High Criminal Court of Istanbul on February 23, 2018, continued hearing final defense statements in what was the second session of the latest hearing in the case publicly known as the “FETÖ media trial,” in which 26 defendants, including former T24 columnist Murat Aksoy and former singer and newspaper columnist Atilla Taş, are standing trial on “membership in a terrorist organization” charges.
 
Five of the defendants, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Cihan Acar, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Habib Güler and Halil İbrahim Balta, gave their final defense statements on the second day of the hearing, monitored by P24 at the courtroom.
 
A detailed report on the hearing can be found here.
 
845 taken into custody for social media posts
 
The Interior Ministry announced on February 26 that a total of 845 individuals have been taken into custody in connection with social media posts and/or demonstrations against Turkey’s ongoing military operation on the Syrian town of Afrin since the launch of the operation on January 20. In its weekly press statement posted Monday on its official website, the ministry said that it has identified “648 incidents of propaganda over social media” since the launch of the operation until the week of February 26.
 
3 Academics for Peace handed down prison sentences
 
Three academics who signed a 2016 petition calling for peace received prison sentences of 1 year and 3 months each on February 23, at the second hearing of the cases against them. The sentences were suspended.
 
The 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul handed down Istanbul University academics Ayda Rona Aylin Altınay Cingöz, Ezgi Pınar and Professor İzzettin Önder 1 year and 3 months in jail on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
 
The sentences marked the first verdicts to be issued in the “academics trials,” opened into more than 100 academics who signed the same petition, on the same charges.
 
Halkın Günlüğü reporter jailed pending trial
 
Sertan Önal, a local reporter based in Tunceli for the magazine Halkın Günlüğü, was sent to prison by an Istanbul court, the magazine reported on February 25. Önal, who was taken into custody by police on February 23 in the Gazi neighborhood in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district, was initially sent to Metris Prison to be later transferred to Silivri. The grounds for his arrest included the Newroz celebrations he attended to cover as a reporter.
 
List of journalists in prison (as of February 26, 2018)
 
The jailing of Sertan Önal pending trial has brought the number of journalists in prison in Turkey to 156. The full list can be seen here.
 
1                Abdulkadir Turay, DİHA reporter
2                Abdullah Kaya, DİHA
3                Abdullah Kılıç, Habertürk
4                Abdullah Özyurt, Zaman reporter
5                Abdulvahap İş (Freelance journalist)
6                Ahmet Altan
7                Ahmet Feyzullah Özyurt
8                Ahmet Memiş, Gazeteci, Haberdar news website
9                Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist
10              Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet reporter
11              Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
12              Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
13              Akın Atalay, Pres. of Cumhuriyet Foundation Executive Board
14              Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
15              Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
16              Ali Aşikar – Azadiya Welat
17              Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
18              Ali Bulaç, former Zaman columnist
19              Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter
20              Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
21              Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
22              Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
23              Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
24              Ayhan Demir, Çaldıran News Agency
25              Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
26              Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
27              Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
28              Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
29              Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
30              Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
31              Behram Kılıç
32              Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
33              Burak Ekici, Birgün
34              Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
35              Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
36              Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
37              Cuma Kaya, Zaman
38              Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
39              Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV
40              Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat
41              Emin Demir, Freelancer
42              Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter
43              Ercan Gün, Fox TV
44              Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor
45              Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor
46              Erdoğan Alayamut, Dihaber reporter
47              Erol Yüksel (TRT News Department vice president))
48              Erol Zavar, Odak magazine, owner and newsroom director
49              Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum
50              Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency
51              Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief
52              Fevzi Yazıcı
53              Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist
54              Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine
55              Gültekin Avcı
56              Habip Güler, Zaman reporter
57              Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director
58              Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor
59              Hakan Taşdelen
60              Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)
61              Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist
62              Hamza Günerigök, TRT
63              Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist
64              Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor
65              Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper’s owner and managing editor
66              Havva Cuştan, ETHA reporter
67              Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
68              Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
69              Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group President
70              Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
71              Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
72              İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
73              İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
74              İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
75              İdris Yılmaz
76              İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor in chief
77              İsmail Efe, local press advisor in İzmir
78              İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
79              İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
80              Kamuran Sunbat, DİHA Çukurova reporter (formerly)
81              Kemal Demir, TV 10
82              Kemal Özer, Evrensel
83              Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
84              Mehmet Ali Ay
85              Mehmet Altan
86              Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
87              Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
88              Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
89              Mehmet Gündem
90              Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
91              Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
92              Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
93              Mete Cem Bahtiyar, former BirGün reporter
94              Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
95              Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM General Publications Coordinator
96              Mizgin Çay – Radyo Karacadağ
97              Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
98              Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
99              Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
100            Murat Çapan, Nokta
101            Murat Dağdeviren (Demokrat Gebze owner)
102            Murat Sabuncu, Editor-in- Chief
103            Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor,
104            Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
105            Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
106            Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
107            Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
108            Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
109            Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız (local) Editor-in-Chief
110            Nedim Türfent,DİHA
111            Nizamettin İzgi (Batman Newspaper’s owner)
112            Nuh Gönültaş
113            Nuri Durna, TRT
114            Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
115            Nurullah Kaya, G.antep Zaman representative
116            Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
117            Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
118            Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
119            Özcan Keser (TRT reporter)
120            Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
121            Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
122            Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
123            Sadık Demir – Radyo Karacadağ
124            Sait Gürka Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
125            Salih Erbekler – Radyo Karacadağ
126            Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine Managing Editor
127            Seda Taşkın, Mesopotamia News Agency reporter
128            Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter and distributor
129            Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
130            Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
131            Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
132            Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
133            Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
134            Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
135            Şahin Alpay, Zaman columnist
136            Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
137            Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
138            Tahsin Kürklü, Zaman – head of Logistics Department
139            Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
140            Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
141            Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
142            Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
143            Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
144            Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
145            Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
146            Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
147            Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
148            Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
149            Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
150            Yasir Kaya, Fenerbahçe TV, formerly
151            Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
152            Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
153            Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
154            Zafer Özsoy
155            Zehra Doğan, Jinha
156            Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter
 
 
For a full list of all the imprisoned journalists in Turkey, visit this spreadsheet. Lists of all of the foundations and associations as well as media outlets shut down can also be found at the same link, although on different tabs of the same spreadsheet.