Journalists in State of Emergency – 148
Verdict issued in long-running trial into former columnists and editors of Zaman daily; indictment against jailed reporter Berzan Güneş accepted
06.07.2018
An Istanbul court on July 6 convicted six former Zaman columnists and editors of “membership in a terrorist organization” while acquitting five of the defendants in the long-running case.
The 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul found columnists Ahmet Turan Alkan, Ali Bulaç, Şahin Alpay, Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman’s Ankara representative Mustafa Ünal and the newspaper’s night shift editor İbrahim Karayeğen guilty of the “membership in a terrorist group” charge, handing down prison sentences of various lengths between 8 years and 9 months and 10.5 years.
The panel acquitted columnists Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu, Nuriye Ural, İhsan Dağı, editor Mehmet Özdemir and lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz of all charges.
A report about the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.
Jailed reporter Berzan Güneş set for first hearing in August
The indictment against jailed journalist Berzan Güneş has been issued.
Güneş, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, was jailed pending trial on June 11. In pretrial detention in the Şırnak T Type Prison, Güneş will appear before the High Criminal Court of Iğdır on August 7 for the first hearing of his trial.
Güneş is charged with “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” on account of his news stories about Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin.
Artı Gerçek’s Fadıl Öztürk appears in court for social media posts
Fadıl Öztürk, a poet and a contributor to the news website Artı Gerçek, appeared in an Izmir court on July 3 for the first hearing of a trial in which he is accused of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” via his social media posts and his articles.
Addressing the 2nd High Criminal Court of Izmir during the trial, Öztürk denied the accusation, while his lawyer, Aysun Akşehirlioğlu, requested for the judicial control measures and the overseas travel ban imposed on Öztürk to be lifted.
Following the defense statements, the prosecutor submitted his final opinion, in which he requested that Öztürk is convicted of “propaganda.”
Öztürk’s lawyer requested for additional time to prepare a defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion. Issuing an interim ruling, the court ruled for the continuation of the judicial control measures imposed on Öztürk and adjourned the trial until October 2, 2018, for the defense statement to be prepared.
Öztürk was taken into custody on January 5 in Izmir based on an arrest and search warrant on grounds that he “conducted propaganda for a terrorist group in his articles.” He was released from custody four days later, on January 9, under judicial control measures.
Court rules non-jurisdiction over Kemal Demir case, sends file to Mersin
Kemal Demir, a former camera operator for TV10, imprisoned since November 2017, appeared before an Istanbul court on July 3 for the first hearing of his trial.
Demir, in pretrial detention in Silivri Prison, is standing trial alongside Kemal Karagöz, another former TV10 employee, in the case.
Addressing the court during the hearing, Demir said he had a family he had to take care of and requested for his release pending trial.
The 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled it had no jurisdiction over the case and ruled to transfer the case file to a high criminal court in Mersin, while also ordering the continuation of Demir’s pretrial detention.
TV10 was closed down by a statutory decree.
Seda Taşkın remains behind bars after second hearing
Jailed Mezopotamya news agency reporter Seda Taşkın, on July 2, appeared before a court in Muş for the second hearing of a trial in which she is indicted for “terrorism propaganda” and “membership in a terrorist group.”
The 2nd High Criminal Court of Muş ruled for the continuation of Taşkın’s pretrial detention and adjourned the trial until September 12, 2018.
For a detailed report on the hearing, monitored by P24, click here.
2 journalists sentenced to judicial fine for failing to blur photo
The 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul on July 2 sentenced two journalists from Yurt daily to a judicial fine of TL 20,000 on grounds of a news photo featured in a March 2016 edition of the newspaper.
The court found Yurt editors Bahadır Akdeniz and Sibel Köklü guilty because they failed to blur the face of a child victim of a March 19, 2016, suicide attack by ISIS on Istanbul’s Istiklal Street in the said photo.
Other free expression cases of the past week
– A court in the central Anatolian city of Nevşehir on July 5 jailed a Nevşehir citizen pending trial on grounds that he “insulted the president” on social media. The suspect had been in custody based on a complaint.
– Actress Berna Laçin is facing a criminal investigation for “insulting the religious values of the people” in one of her social media posts. Laçin was reacting to the ongoing public debate concerning the reinstitution of capital punishment in Turkey in her Twitter post, which prompted the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to launch the investigation.
– Stage actor Bülent Bektaş, a conscientious objector, appeared before an Ankara court on July 3 to give his defense statement in a case where he is indicted for his social media posts. The 29th High Criminal Court of Ankara adjourned the trial until November 6, 2018.
– An Istanbul court on June 26 jailed advertising professional Hakan Aykut Nili for “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” on social media. Nili was arrested on June 25, one day after Turkey’s June 24 elections, on grounds of one of his social media posts that included a remark concerning the election results. His lawyer announced on July 6 that Nili has been released pending trial.
List of journalists and media workers in prison
Following the release of imprisoned journalists Ahmet Turan Alkan and İbrahim Karayeğen at the end of the Zaman trial on July 6, at least 179 journalists and media workers remain behind bars either as convicts or in pretrial detention in Turkey’s prisons.
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 Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
12 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
13 Ali Akkuş, Zaman
14 Ali Aşikar, Azadiya Welat
15 Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
16 Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter
17 Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
18 Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
19 Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
20 Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
21 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
22 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
23 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
24 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
25 Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
26 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
27 Behram Kılıç
28 Berzan Güneş, Mezopotamya Agency reporter
29 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
30 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
31 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
32 Cemal Tunç, Gün Matbaacılık employee
33 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
34 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
35 Cumali Çaygeç, TRT Şeş news director
36 Cumali Öz, Gün Matbaacılık employee
37 Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV
38 Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat
39 Doğan Baran, Odak magazine owner, managing editor
40 Ece Sevim Öztürk, Çağdaş Ses editor in chief
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 Zamur, Gün Matbaacılık employee
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 Ferhat Parlak, Silvan Mücadele newspaper owner
53 Fevzi Yazıcı, Zaman chief designer
54 Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist
55 Gökhan Öner, former Dihaber reporter
56 Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine
57 Gültekin Avcı
58 Habip Güler, Zaman reporter
59 Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director
60 Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor
61 Hakan Taşdelen
62 Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)
63 Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist
64 Hamza Günerigök, TRT
65 Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist
66 Hasan Bzokurt, Bugün reporter
67 Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor
68 Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper owner and managing editor
69 Havva Cuştan, ETHA reporter
70 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
71 Hicran Ürün, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
72 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
73 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
74 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
75 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
76 İdris Yılmaz
77 İhsan Sinmiş, Gün Matbaacılık employee
78 İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner
79 İrfan Karaca, Gün Matbaacılık employee
80 İshak Yasul, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor
81 İsmail Çoban, former Azadiya Welat managing editor
82 İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
83 İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
84 Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter
85 Kasım Zengin, owner of Gün Matbaacılık
86 Kazım Canlan, Cihan news agency Ankara news director
87 Kazım Göçer, Gün Matbaacılık employee
88 Kemal Daşdöğen, Gün Matbaacılık employee
89 Kemal Demir, TV 10
90 Kemal Özer, Evrensel
91 Kemal Sancılı, Özgür Gündem copyrights holder
92 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
93 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
94 Mahmut Abay, Gün Matbaacılık employee
95 Mehmet Ali Ay
96 Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
97 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
98 Mehmet Dursun
99 Mehmet Emin Sümeli, Gün Matbaacılık employee
100 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
101 Mehmet Gündem
102 Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Gün Matbaacılık employee
103 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
104 Mehmet Sıddık damar, DİHA
105 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
106 Metin Arslan, Bugün reporter
107 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
108 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
109 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
110 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
111 Muhammet Özkan, Gün Matbaacılık employee
112 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
113 Murat Çapan, Nokta
114 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
115 Musa Kaya, Gün Matbaacılık employee
116 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
117 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
118 Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter
119 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
120 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
121 Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
122 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
123 Mürsel Demir, Gün Matbaacılık employee
124 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief
125 Necat Hizarcı, Gün Matbaacılık employee
126 Nedim Türfent, DİHA
127 Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner
128 Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist
129 Nuri Durna, TRT
130 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
131 Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative
132 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
133 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
134 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
135 Özcan Keser, TRT reporter
136 Özgür Bozkurt, Gün Matbaacılık employee
137 Pınar Gayıp, ETHA reporter
138 Pınar Tarlak, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
139 Polat Arslan, Gün Matbaacılık employee
140 Reyhan Çapan, Özgür Gündem managing editor
141 Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
142 Sadettin Demirtaş, Gün Matbaacılık employee
143 Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ
144 Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
145 Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ
146 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor
147 Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter
148 Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor
149 Semiha Şahin, ETHA editor
150 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
151 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
152 Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter
153 Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
154 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
155 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
156 Sezai Yavaş, TRT Diyarbakır deputy regional director
157 Songül Yücel, Önsöz editor in chief
158 Süleyman Acar, Mücadele Birliği editor in chief
159 Süleyman Güneş, Gün Matbaacılık employee
160 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
161 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
162 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
163 Şirin Kabakçı, Zaman Konya bureau chief
164 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
165 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
166 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
167 Uğur Selman Kelekçiler, Gün Matbaacılık employee
168 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
169 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
170 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
171 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
172 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
173 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
174 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
175 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
176 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
177 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
178 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
179 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter