Journalists in State of Emergency – 139

 

 

İsmail Çoban, the former managing editor of the shuttered Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat, was jailed pending trial on May 3 following 10 days in custody.

 

Çoban was taken into custody on April 23 in Mersin on grounds of an arrest warrant issued by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of an investigation against the journalist. Following his arrest in Mersin, Çoban was brought to Diyarbakır, where he gave his statement at the Diyarbakır Police Department.

 

Following the completion of procedures at the police department, Çoban was transferred to the Diyarbakır courthouse on May 3 to give his statement to a prosecutor. The prosecutor then referred Çoban to a Criminal Judgeship of Peace on “membership in a terrorist group” charges.

 

Çoban was jailed pending trial and sent to the D Type Prison.

 

The accusations against Çoban are unclear at this stage because of a confidentiality order on the investigation.

 

 

Mehmet Baransu continues defense statement in Taraf trial 

 

Jailed reporter Mehmet Baransu continued his defense statement in the eighth hearing of the case against former journalists of the shuttered Taraf daily on May 2-4 at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The case concerns the alleged publication of documents called “Egemen War Plan” in the newspaper.

 

In its interim ruling at the end of the three-day hearing, the court ordered the continuation of Baransu’s detention on remand, and accepted requests from five ex-military officials to join the case as co-plaintiffs. The court also set August 7-9 as the date for the next hearing.

 

A detailed report on the hearing, monitored in the courtroom by P24, can be accessed here.

 

 

Journalist Mehmet Sıddık Damar sent to prison 

 

Mehmet Sıddık Damar, a former reporter for the shuttered Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was arrested on April 30 to be sent to jail to serve a prison term, after an appellate court upheld an earlier conviction. Damar was sent to the Istanbul Courthouse to be processed before being transferred to Metris Prison.

 

For further details, see this report.

 

 

Seda Taşkın remains behind bars at first hearing of her trial

 

Jailed Mezopotamya Agency reporter Seda Taşkın appeared before the 2nd High Criminal Court of Muş on April 30 for the first hearing of the trial against her on terrorism-related charges.

 

At the end of the hearing, the court ruled to continue Taşkın’s pre-trial detention and set July 2 as the date of the next hearing. Taşkın has been in detention on remand in the Sincan Prison in Ankara since January 23, 2018, as part of this case.

 

A detailed report about the hearing, monitored in the courtroom by P24, can be accessed here.

 

 

Court convicts 10 suspects separated from Zaman trial

 

Eighteen individuals formerly employed in companies linked with Feza Publications Inc., the parent company of the shuttered Zaman newspaper, appeared before the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul on April 27 and 30 for the final hearing of their trial.

 

The court handed down 10 of the 18 suspects prison terms varying between 3 years, 1 month and 15 days and 9 years for “membership in a terrorist organization” and “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member.” Five of the suspects were acquitted while the files of 3 people were separated.

 

A detailed report on the hearing, monitored in the courtroom by P24, can be found here.

 

 

Other freedom of expression cases of the past week

 

Two more academics who signed 2016’s Academics for Peace declaration appeared before an Istanbul court on May 4 for the first hearings of their trials on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges. Academics Melike Acar and Ayşegün Soysal appeared before the 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. Neither Acar nor Soysal gave defense statements during the hearings. Both academics rejected the accusations and demanded their immediate acquittal. The lawyer representing Acar and Soysal also requested their acquittal, and the merging of both cases. The court rejected the requests and set October 11 as the date for the next hearings.

 

A prosecutor demanded prison terms for Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chairperson of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), and HDP MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges. Submitting his final opinion during the April 30 hearing of the case at the 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, the prosecutor requested that both Demirtaş and Önder are sentenced to five years in prison each. The charges stem from the speeches Demirtaş and Önder made during the 2013 Nevruz celebration in Istanbul.

 

Ayşe Çelik, a school teacher who was imprisoned on April 20 to serve a 15-month sentence she was handed down in 2017, was released on probation on May 4. Çelik was convicted of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” in April 2017 for her remarks on a live TV show in 2015. She was sent to prison with her baby daughter in Diyarbakır on April 20 after her request for an additional period of delay was rejected. Çelik’s release comes after her lawyer, Mahsuni Karaman, filed for her release on probation.

 

 

P24 updates its list of jailed journalists and media workers

 

P24 has updated its list of jailed journalists and media workers, a list compiled from open sources using information available to the general public.

 

Following the release of four detained suspects at the end of the Feza Publications Inc. trial, and the imprisonment of journalists İsmail Çoban and Mehmet Sıddık Damar during the past week, there are at least 174 journalists and media workers either in pretrial detention or serving prison sentences in Turkey’s prisons as of May 5, 2018. 

 

The full list can be accessed 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 Adil Demirci, ETHA reporter

7 Ahmet Altan

8 Ahmet Feyzullah Özyurt

9 Ahmet Memiş, Haberdar news website

10 Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman

11 Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman

12 Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)

13 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator

14 Ali Akkuş, Zaman

15 Ali Aşikar, Azadiya Welat

16 Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer

17 Ali Bulaç, former Zaman columnist

18 Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter 

19 Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist

20 Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief

21 Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus

22 Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek

23 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak

24 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar

25 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer

26 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative

27 Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee

28 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter

29 Behram Kılıç

30 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief

31 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter

32 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation

33 Cemal Tunç, Gün Matbaacılık employee

34 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi

35 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator

36 Cumali Öz, Gün Matbaacılık employee

37 Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV

38 Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat

39 Emin Demir, freelancer

40 Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter

41 Ercan Gün, Fox TV

42 Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor

43 Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor

44 Erdoğan Alayumat, Dihaber reporter

45 Erdoğan Zamur, Gün Matbaacılık employee

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 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor

68 Hicran Ürün, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor

69 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president

70 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter

71 İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman

72 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter

73 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA

74 İdris Yılmaz

75 İhsan Sinmiş, Gün Matbaacılık employee

76 İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner

77 İrfan Karaca, Gün Matbaacılık employee

78 İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor-in-chief

79 İshak Yasul, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor

80 İsmail Çoban, former Azadiya Welat managing editor

81 İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency

82 İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor

83 Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter

84 Kasım Zengin, owner of Gün Matbaacılık

85 Kazım Göçer, Gün Matbaacılık employee

86 Kemal Daşdöğen, Gün Matbaacılık employee

87 Kemal Demir, TV 10 

88 Kemal Özer, Evrensel

89 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief

90 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor

91 Mahmut Abay, Gün Matbaacılık employee

92 Mehmet Ali Ay

93 Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor

94 Mehmet Altan

95 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter

96 Mehmet Dursun

97 Mehmet Emin Sümeli, Gün Matbaacılık employee

98 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA

99 Mehmet Gündem

100 Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Gün Matbaacılık employee

101 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter

102 Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist

103 Mehmet Sıddık damar, DİHA

104 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter

105 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor

106 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator

107 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ

108 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com

109 Muhammet Özkan, Gün Matbaacılık employee

110 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency

111 Murat Çapan, Nokta

112 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner

113 Musa Kaya, Gün Matbaacılık employee

114 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor

115 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine

116 Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter

117 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman

118 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator

119 Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter

120 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist

121 Mürsel Demir, Gün Matbaacılık employee

122 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief

123 Necat Hizarcı, Gün Matbaacılık employee

124 Nedim Türfent, DİHA

125 Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner

126 Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist

127 Nuri Durna, TRT

128 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief

129 Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative

130 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator

131 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya

132 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper

133 Özcan Keser, TRT reporter

134 Özgür Bozkurt, Gün Matbaacılık employee

135 Pınar Gayıp, ETHA reporter

136 Pınar Tarlak, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee 

137 Polat Arslan, Gün Matbaacılık employee

138 Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor

139 Sadettin Demirtaş, Gün Matbaacılık employee

140 Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ

141 Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter

142 Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ

143 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor

144 Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter

145 Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor

146 Semiha Şahin, ETHA editor

147 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region

148 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter

149 Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter

150 Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter

151 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News

152 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief

153 Songül Yücel, Önsöz editor in chief 

154 Süleyman Acar, Mücadele Birliği editor in chief

155 Süleyman Güneş, Gün Matbaacılık employee

156 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter

157 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV

158 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter

159 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek

160 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter

161 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist

162 Uğur Selman Kelekçiler, Gün Matbaacılık employee

163 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief

164 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief

165 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive

166 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive

167 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter

168 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director

169 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)

170 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website

171 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor

172 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor

173 Zehra Doğan, Jinha

174 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter