Freedom of Expression and the Press in Turkey – 150
Cumhuriyet reporter Canan Coşkun handed down 2-year sentence; former Radikal and Habertürk TV reporter Mustafa Gökkılıç jailed pending trial

22.07.2018
The emergency rule declared by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, has been lifted as of July 19, 2018. However, its impact on freedom of the press and freedom of expression has not ceased.
Throughout the two-year emergency rule, P24 produced a total of 149 reports in English (and 166 reports in Turkish) headlined “Journalists in State of Emergency,” aiming to chronicle violations of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey in light of information compiled from open sources. Notwithstanding the end of emergency rule, P24 will continue to produce such reports under the headline “Freedom of the Press and Free Expression in Turkey.”
Former Radikal reporter Mustafa Gökkılıç jailed pending trial
Mustafa Gökkılıç, a former reporter for Habertürk TV and the now defunct Radikal daily, who had been in custody since last week, was jailed pending trial on July 19 by an Istanbul court.
Gökkılıç was taken into custody on July 12 on grounds of an arrest warrant issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. He was among 24 people sought as part of a criminal investigation concerning 2012’s “MİT crisis,” in which the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and several intelligence officials were summoned to testify in court.
Gökkılıç was arrested alongside five other individuals as part of the investigation. An Istanbul Criminal Judgeship of Peace jailed all six pending trial.
BirGün reporter Zeynep Kuray briefly detained
Zeynep Kuray, an Istanbul-based reporter for BirGün daily, was briefly taken into custody on July 20 in Kadıköy.
Kuray was among several people detained as police dispersed a group who convened in Kadıköy for a demonstration aimed at commemorating the victims of a 2015 suicide bombing in the southeastern town of Suruç, in Urfa. July 20 marked the third year anniversary of the Suruç attack, in which more than 30 civilians, mostly young people, were killed.
Kuray was on the scene to cover the commemoration. Kuray and others who were detained were released from custody later on July 20.
Cumhuriyet reporter Canan Coşkun given 2 years 3 months in jail
An Istanbul court on July 19 sentenced Cumhuriyet newspaper’s court reporter Canan Coşkun to two years and three months in jail for mentioning the witness in a criminal investigation by his name in a news report published in September 2017.
The 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul refused to reduce or postpone the sentence it handed down to Coşkun at the end of the third hearing in the case. The court however did not order Coşkun’s arrest, meaning she will be free pending the outcome of the appeal.
A report about the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.
Evrensel cartoonist, editor stand trial for Paradise Papers cartoon
Evrensel daily’s cartoonist Sefer Selvi and former responsible managing editor Çağrı Sarı are standing trial in a case filed by former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on grounds of a political cartoon by Selvi published in the newspaper and its online edition. Yıldırım is seeking TL 40,000 in non-pecuniary damages on grounds that Selvi’s cartoon “violated his personal rights.”
P24 monitored the first hearing of the trial, held on 19 July at the Anadolu 29th Civil Court of First Instance in Istanbul.
Evrensel lawyer Devrim Avcı represented Selvi and Sarı during the hearing. Addressing the court during the hearing, the lawyer said Selvi’s cartoon fell within criticism and humor, and therefore the case should be rejected. Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hering, the court rejected Avcı’s request and adjourned the trial until 8 November.
Zaman columnist Ali Ünal faces three aggravated life sentences
Former Zaman columnist Ali Ünal, standing trial on “coup” and “leadership in an armed terrorist organization” charges, appeared before a court in Uşak on 18 July for the fourth hearing of his trial.
The prosecutor submitted his final opinion of the case during the hearing at the Uşak 2nd High Criminal Court, requesting three aggravated life sentences for Ünal for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order,” “attempting to abolish the parliament” and “attempting to overthrow the government” and two additional prison terms on charges of “inciting the people to armed rebellion” and “establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization.” The prosecutor also demanded that Ünal is remanded in prison.
The court ruled to keep Ünal in pretrial detention and adjourned the trial until 5 September for Ünal to prepare his final defense statement.
To read more about the hearing, monitored by P24, click here.
“MİT trucks case” against Dündar, Gül and Berberoğlu adjourned
The 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul on 18 July held the seventh hearing of a trial publicly known as the “MİT trucks case.”
Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily, the newspaper’s Ankara representative Erdem Gül, and imprisoned Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Enis Berberoğlu are standing trial in the case for “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” on account of Cumhuriyet’s May 2015 coverage of Syria-bound National Intelligence Agency (MİT) trucks.
At the end of the closed-door hearing, the court adjourned the trial until 10 October for the defendants to prepare their final defense statements.
Erdem Gül acquitted in retrial of MİT trucks case
In the retrial of another case in relation with Cumhuriyet’s coverage of the Syria-bound MİT trucks, the daily’s Ankara representative Gül was acquitted of the charges against him.
The retrial got underway in May, after the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s judgment of 6 May 2016, which had convicted Gül and Dündar for “disclosing confidential documents related to the security of the state” and sentenced both journalists to prison terms. Gül was given a 5-year prison term.
At the end of the first hearing of the retrial in May, the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled to separate Gül’s file.
Gül and his lawyers were in attendance at the second hearing of his retrial on 16 July at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The prosecutor submitted his final opinion, requesting that Gül be acquitted on grounds that the elements of the alleged crime were not present because Gül’s June 2015 article about the MİT trucks was published later than Dündar’s May 2015 report, after which the MİT trucks ceased being a state secret. The panel then announced its verdict, ruling for Gül’s acquittal.
Jailed journalist İdris Yılmaz given prison term in “libel” case
Jailed journalist İdris Yılmaz was given a prison sentence on 17 July in a case where he was charged with “libel” for his reporting based on footage showing a group of village guards in the eastern town of Erciş harassing a child.
Yılmaz, who is in pretrial detention in the Elazığ Maximum Security Prison as part of another case, addressed the Erciş 1st Criminal Court of First Instance via the courtroom video-conferencing system SEGBİS during the fourth hearing of the “libel” case.
In his defense statement, Yılmaz told the court that his report was part of his responsibility towards the public as a journalist. Adding that his coverage was based on recorded footage and eyewitness accounts, Yılmaz requested for his acquittal.
Announcing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court convicted Yılmaz of “defamation and insult” and gave the journalist a prison term of 1 year and 3 months in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion.
ETHA reporter Cuştan released, editor Temel remains behind bars
An Istanbul court on 17 July ruled to release Havva Cuştan, a reporter for the Etkin news agency (ETHA), after nine months in pretrial detention, while ordering to keep her colleague, editor İsminaz Temel, in jail.
Both journalists were appearing in the first hearing of their trial alongside 21 other defendants on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
The 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul set 29 November 2018 as the date for the next hearing.
A report about the first hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.
“Paradise Papers” case against Cumhuriyet journalists adjourned
Cumhuriyet daily’s finance desk editor Pelin Ünker appeared before an Istanbul court on 17 July for the second hearing of a lawsuit filed by former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and his sons.
Yıldırım and his sons are seeking TL 500,000 in non-pecuniary damages in the lawsuit, claiming that two reports published in Cumhuriyet concerning the “Paradise Papers” leaks “violated their personal rights.”
P24 monitored the hearing at the Anadolu 24th Civil Court of First Instance, where Ünker and her lawyer Abbas Yalçın attended. Yıldırım and his sons were represented by lawyer Tuba Kılıç.
Kılıç reiterated the plaintiffs’ claims during the hearing. Yalçın said the defense statement in response to the allegations would be submitted in written form, as is the rule in such lawsuits, and the judge postponed the trial until 6 September.
Ünker is standing trial alongside Cumhuriyet Foundation Executive Board Chairman Orhan Erinç in the case.
Özgür Gündem solidarity trial adjourned until October
The eighth hearing of the trial of journalists who joined in a solidarity campaign for the shuttered Özgür Gündem daily was held on 16 July at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
The prosecutor had submitted his final opinion of the case during the previous hearing, seeking prison terms for 12 of the 13 defendants — Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Celal Başlangıç, İhsan Çaralan, Fehim Işık, Öncü Akgül, Faruk Eren, Celalettin Can, Ömer Ağın, Veysel Kemer, Dilşah Karakaya, Yüksel Oğuz and Özgür Gündem’s former co-editor-in-chief Hüseyin Aykol — on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The prosecutor did not request a prison sentence for the 13th defendant, Mehmet Şirin Taşdemir, on grounds that he has already been convicted in another case.
P24 monitored the hearing on 16 July, where none of the defendants were in attendance. Defense lawyers addressing the court for the final defense statements requested that the investigation be expanded. The lawyers also raised objection of unconstitutionality.
Rejecting the lawyers’ requests and objections, the court adjourned the trial until 10 October for the rest of the final defense statements to be ready.
Mezopotamya agency reporter briefly detained
Hacı Söylemez, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, was taken into custody on 16 July in front of the Council of Forensic Medicine in Izmir, where he was covering a developing news story. Söylemez was detained after a police officer searched his mobile phone. Söylemez was released from custody later that day.
Other freedom of expression cases of the past week
- Onur Hamzaoğlu, an academic and public health specialist, and socialist politician Fadime Çelebi appeared before the 29th High Criminal Court of Ankara on 19 July along with nine others for the first hearing of their trial on charges of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “inciting the public to hatred and animosity.’’ Both Hamzaoğlu and Çelebi were released at the end of the trial after five months in pre-trial detention over a press statement critical of Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin. To read more about the hearing, monitored by P24, click here.
- Three academics standing trial on “propaganda” charges for signing 2016’s Academics for Peace declaration were given suspended prison sentences on 17 July. The Istanbul 32nd High Criminal Court heard 10 academics cases on 17 July. The court convicted three of the academics and gave each academic 1 year and 3 months in prison and deferred the sentences.
- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed a complaint against CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and 72 other CHP MPs on grounds that they shared on social media a cartoon that caused four university students in Ankara to be jailed pending trial on the charge of “insulting the president.” The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has also launched an investigation into Kılıçdaroğlu with the accusation of “insulting the president” after he shared the said cartoon on social media in protest of four Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) students being jailed because they carried a banner featuring the said cartoon during their school’s graduation ceremony.
List of journalists and media workers in prison
As of 21 July 2018, at least 178 journalists and media workers are in prison in Turkey, either in pretrial detention or serving a sentence.
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 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
70 Hicran Ürün, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
71 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
72 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
73 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
74 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
75 İdris Yılmaz
76 İhsan Sinmiş, Gün Matbaacılık employee
77 İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner
78 İrfan Karaca, Gün Matbaacılık employee
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 Canlan, Cihan news agency Ankara news director
86 Kazım Göçer, Gün Matbaacılık employee
87 Kemal Daşdöğen, Gün Matbaacılık employee
88 Kemal Demir, TV 10
89 Kemal Özer, Evrensel
90 Kemal Sancılı, Özgür Gündem copyrights holder
91 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
92 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
93 Mahmut Abay, Gün Matbaacılık employee
94 Mehmet Ali Ay
95 Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
96 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
97 Mehmet Dursun
98 Mehmet Emin Sümeli, Gün Matbaacılık employee
99 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
100 Mehmet Gündem
101 Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Gün Matbaacılık employee
102 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
103 Mehmet Sıddık damar, DİHA
104 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
105 Metin Arslan, Bugün reporter
106 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
107 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
108 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
109 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
110 Muhammet Özkan, Gün Matbaacılık employee
111 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
112 Murat Çapan, Nokta
113 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
114 Musa Kaya, Gün Matbaacılık employee
115 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
116 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
117 Mustafa Gökkılıç, reporter, Radikal and Habertürk TV
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 Şirin Kabakçı, Zaman Konya bureau chief
163 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
164 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
165 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
166 Uğur Selman Kelekçiler, Gün Matbaacılık employee
167 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
168 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
169 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
170 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
171 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
172 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
173 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
174 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
175 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
176 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
177 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
178 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter