Journalists in State of Emergency – 137

 
Van-based journalist İdris Yılmaz, currently in pretrial detention at the Elazığ Prison, is facing a new investigation, launched following a complaint filed by a contractor who assaulted the journalist last year.
 
Yılmaz was arrested during a police raid on his apartment in Van on account of a photograph he posted online through his social media account. He was referred to court for detention on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist group” charge. The court jailed Yılmaz on the same charge pending trial and sent him to the Erciş Prison in Van. Yılmaz was later transferred to the Elazığ Maximum Security Prison, where he has been in detention on remand for the past three months.
 
Yılmaz will appear before a court on “slander” charges as part of the new investigation, launched by the Erciş Chief Public Prosecutor’s office.
 
After Yılmaz was sent to prison, yet another investigation was launched into Yılmaz following a complaint by the Erciş district governor, but details of the investigation file are undisclosed.
 
Yılmaz is being held in solitary confinement in the Elazığ Prison.
 
ETHA editor, reporter jailed on terrorism-related charges
 
Etkin news agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and reporter Pınar Gayıp were jailed pending trial by an Istanbul court on April 19 on “membership in a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges. This development brought the number of journalists in prison in Turkey to at least 165.
 
A report on Şahin and Gayıp’s detention can be accessed here.
 
Up to 15 years in prison sought for Nur Ener Kılınç
 
Nur Ener Kılınç, an editor for the Yeni Asya newspaper, currently in house arrest, appeared before the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on April 19 at the latest hearing of her trial on the accusation of “membership in a terrorist organization.” The prosecutor submitted his final opinion, requesting Kılınç is sentenced to between 7.5 and 15 years in prison on the same charge.
 
A report on the hearing can be accessed here.
 
Koray Çalışkan handed down prison sentence for tweets
 
An Istanbul court on April 19 handed down academic and columnist Koray Çalışkan a prison sentence of 1 year, 6 months and 22 days on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
 
The accusation against Çalışkan in the trial, overseen by the 24th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, was based on his social media posts on Twitter, in which he was said to conduct propaganda in favor of the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY).”
 
Judicial control measures imposed on Güreş, Aybey lifted
 
Gaziantep-based journalist Murat Güreş and two other local journalists, Furkan Gökşen and Metin Aybey, appeared before a local court on April 19 on the charge of “breaching the confidentiality of an investigation” by reporting about the contents of the statement an influential local businessperson gave to a prosecutor. The court ruled to lift all judicial control measures on the journalists and adjourned the trial until September 27, 2018.
 
A detailed report on the hearing, monitored by P24 in the courtroom, can be accessed here.
 
First hearing held in “Paradise Papers” trial against Evrensel
 
The first hearing of a trial against Çağrı Sarı, the former responsible managing editor of Evrensel daily, in which she faces up to six years in prison on “insult” and “slander” charges for publishing two news stories about “Paradise Papers” in November 2017, was held on April 18 at the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal court of First Instance.
 
The court had recently accepted the indictment against Evrensel and its former responsible managing editor, issued upon a complaint by Energy Minister Berat Albayrak and his brother Serhat Albayrak. Serhat Albayrak’s name was mentioned in “Paradise Papers,” a set of 13.4 million leaked confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments by more than 120 politicians, among other high profile names, from 50 countries.
 
Evrensel lawyer Devrim Avcı and the Albayraks’ lawyer Hatice Özay were in attendance at the April 18 hearing, during which the court accepted Özay’s request to represent the Albayrak brothers in the trial, and set June 13 as the date of the next hearing.
 
Özgür Gündem solidarity trial adjourned until October
 
The fifth hearing in the trial against human rights defender and academic Şebnem Korur Financı, Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu and mathematician and writer Ahmet Nesin for engaging in a solidarity campaign for the shuttered daily Özgür Gündem was held on April 18 at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The trial was adjourned until October.
 
A report on the hearing, monitored in the courtroom by P24, can be accessed here.
 
Other freedom of speech cases of the past week
 
Ayşe Çelik, a school teacher who was convicted of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” in April 2017 for her remarks on a live TV show in 2015, was sent to prison with her baby daughter in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on April 20 after her request for an additional period of delay had been rejected.
 
Seven academics who signed 2016’s Academics for Peace declaration appeared in the second and first hearings of the respective trials against them on April 19 at the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The academics are accused of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” for having signed the said declaration. Academics Canay Şahin, Emin Alper, Kerem Eksen and Ozan Çağlayan gave their statements to their respective trial courts, which adjourned all four trials to October 2. The rest of the academics, Burcu Kaya, Z.Y. and Kuban Altınel, were appearing in their first hearings. The court adjourned these trials until June 28.
 
An Izmir court on April 17 handed down musician Suavi Saygan a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days for “insulting the president” in a public speech he delivered during an event in Izmir on October 29, 2016. The Izmir 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance then commuted Saygan’s sentence to a legal fine of TL 14,000.
 
On April 19, Veysi Altay, the director of a documentary titled Nû Jîn, and Dicle Anter, who had the film shown at the Yılmaz Güney Theater, appeared in the first hearing of a trial against them on charges of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The charges stem from the documentary. The 2nd High Criminal Court of Batman adjourned the trial until June 19.
 
The fourth hearing of a trial in which documentarist, video-activist and journalist Kazım Kızıl stands accused of “insulting the president” in his social media posts as well as violating the Demonstrations and Protest Marches Law, was held on April 16 in Izmir. The İzmir 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance set June 4, 2018, as the date of the next hearing.
 
The first hearing of a criminal case against Ferhat Tunç in which the musician is accused of “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” on account of a Twitter message he posted on April 16, 2017, was held on April 18 in Istanbul. Tunç did not attend the hearing due to his sibling’s passing. The Büyükçekmece 4th Criminal Court of First Instance adjourned the trial until July 6, 2018.
 
On April 18, the deputy chairman of Turkey’s Labour Party (EMEP), Mehmet Türkmen, was released from pretrial detention and placed on house arrest by the 8th High Criminal Court of Gaziantep, where the politician is on trial on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” on account of his social media posts critical of Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin. The court set July 5 as the date of the third hearing.
 
Also on April 18, an Eskişehir-based member of EMEP, Sinan Niron, was convicted of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Niron had been arrested on January 31 on account of his social media posts concerning Turkey’s Afrin operation. He was later jailed pending trial. Niron was handed down a sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison. The court deferred the sentence and Niron was released from prison.
 
List of journalists in prison
(as of April 20, 2018)
 
1          Abdulkadir Turay, DİHA reporter
2          Abdullah Kaya, DİHA
3          Abdullah Kılıç, Habertürk
4          Abdullah Özyurt, Zaman reporter
5          Abdulvahap İş, freelance journalist
6          Adil Demirci, ETHA reporter
7          Ahmet Altan
8          Ahmet Feyzullah Özyurt
9          Ahmet Memiş, Haberdar news website
10        Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist
11        Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
12        Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
13        Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet Foundation executive board chairman
14        Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
15        Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
16        Ali Akkuş, Zaman
17        Ali Aşikar, Azadiya Welat
18        Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
19        Ali Bulaç, former Zaman columnist
20        Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter
21        Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
22        Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
23        Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
24        Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
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        Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
34        Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
35        Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
36        Cuma Kaya, Zaman
37        Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
38        Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV
39        Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat
40        Emin Demir, freelancer
41        Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter
42        Ercan Gün, Fox TV
43        Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor
44        Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor
45        Erdoğan Alayumat, Dihaber reporter
46        Erol Yüksel, TRT News Department vice president
47        Erol Zavar, Odak magazine owner and newsroom director
48        Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum
49        Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency
50        Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief
51        Ferhat Parlak, Silvan Mücadele newspaper owner
52        Fevzi Yazıcı, Zaman chief designer
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 owner and managing editor
66        Havva Cuştan, ETHA reporter
67        Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
68        Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
69        Hicran Ürün, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
70        Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
71        Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
72        Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
73        İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
74        İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
75        İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
76        İdris Yılmaz
77        İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner
78        İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor-in-chief
79        İshak Yasul, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor
80        İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
81        İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
82        Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter
83        Kemal Demir, TV 10
84        Kemal Özer, Evrensel
85        Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
86        Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
87        Mehmet Ali Ay
88        Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
89        Mehmet Altan
90        Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
91        Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
92        Mehmet Dursun
93        Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
94        Mehmet Gündem
95        Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
96        Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
97        Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
98        Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
99        Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
100       Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
101       Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
102       Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
103       Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
104       Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
105       Murat Çapan, Nokta
106       Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
107       Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
108       Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
109       Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter
110       Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
111       Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
112       Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
113       Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
114       Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief
115       Nedim Türfent, DİHA
116       Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner
117       Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist
118       Nuri Durna, TRT
119       Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
120       Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative
121       Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
122       Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
123       Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
124       Özcan Keser, TRT reporter
125       Pınar Gayıp, ETHA reporter
126       Pınar Tarlak, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
127       Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
128       Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
129       Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
130       Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
131       Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ
132       Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
133       Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ
134       Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor
135       Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter
136       Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor
137       Semiha Şahin, ETHA editor
138       Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
139       Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
140       Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter
141       Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
142       Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
143       Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
144       Songül Yücel, Önsöz editor in chief
145       Süleyman Acar, Mücadele Birliği editor in chief
146       Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
147       Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
148       Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
149       Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
150       Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
151       Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
152       Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
153       Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
154       Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
155       Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
156       Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
157       Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
158       Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
159       Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
160       Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
161       Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
162       Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
163       Zafer Özsoy
164       Zehra Doğan, Jinha
165       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.