Journalists in State of Emergency – 130
Police raid Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper’s head office and printing facility in İstanbul; detain publisher, printing company staff

29.03.2018
The head office of the pro-Kurdish Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district and the printing facility where the newspaper is printed were raided by police in the early hours of March 28.
Media reports said nine employees of the newspaper and the printing company, including the newspaper’s owner İlhan Yaşar, were taken into custody during the midnight raids, which lasted until around 3 a.m.
During the day a total of 21 suspects that included employees of the newspaper and the printing company were taken into custody as part of an investigation launched into the paper by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on allegations of ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Accusations leveled against those in custody are “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The report also said a Criminal Judgeship of Peace appointed a board of trustees to both the newspaper and the printing company upon request from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
At a press conference at the Human Rights Association (İHD) Istanbul branch on Wednesday, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editors and representatives from press organizations said that they could only confirm that the newspaper’s publisher İlhan Yaşar and eight employees of the printing company, including owner Kasım Zengin, were in custody, but added that this number might go up because they were receiving unconfirmed reports from other provinces in Turkey concerning more arrests targeting the employees of the newspaper, including former employees.
The editors also explained that they were only verbally notified by an official claiming to be from the Turkish banking system watchdog Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) that the government-run fund had appointed a board of trustees to the newspaper, and that no written notification was made.
The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) issued a statement concerning the raid on Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, in which it said that this was an attempt by the government to silence media outlets of which it cannot seize control by purchasing.
TGS President Gökhan Durmuş said this was an attempt to deny the public of its right of access to information.
Durmuş added: “With the [pro-government Demirören group’s] takeover of Doğan Media Group, monopolization in media has turned into the most fundamental problem we’re facing. […] The raid on Özgürlükçü Demokrasi and the attempt to seize the newspaper shows that the government is seeking to silence all critical parties in the run up to the 2019 elections. We need to continue struggling for a free media.”
Court refuses to rule on Mehmet Altan’s release
The Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court refused to rule on a request for imprisoned journalist Mehmet Altan’s release filed by his lawyers following the European Court of Human Rights’ March 20 judgment concerning his individual application. The trial court said the case against Altan is disposed.
A detailed report about the decision, issued on March 28, can be found here.
Ahmet Altan acquitted of “insulting Erdoğan”
Imprisoned novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan was acquitted on March 27 of insulting Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a 2012 newspaper column in the retrial of a 2013 case, in which a court had ruled that Altan exceeded the limits of criticism and insulted the then-Prime Minister.
Altan gave his statement to the Istanbul Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance via the courtroom video-conferencing system SEGBİS during the March 27 hearing, monitored by P24 in the courtroom. Altan’s lawyer Ergin Cinmen was present in the hearing, where Erdoğan’s lawyers did not attend.
Altan said during his address to the court that the Supreme Court of Appeals had set legal criteria for the “insult” offense. “The Supreme Court of Appeals held that as long as an article is not intended to denigrate [a person], it amounts to not insult, but severe criticism. I request that your court adheres to the Supreme Court of Appeals ruling,” Altan said.
At the end of the original case, Altan was handed down 11 months and 20 days in prison for insulting Erdoğan in his January 2012 column “Devlet Yardakçılığı ve Ahlak” (“State Complicity and Morality”), about the infamous Roboskî bombing in 2011 where 34 civilians were killed. The court had commuted the prison sentence to a fine of TL 7,000.
Altan’s lawyers had appealed that verdict at the Supreme Court of Appeals, which ruled in September 2017 that the elements of the “insult” offense were not present in the case file, overruling the trial court’s decision.
The case file was then sent to the Istanbul Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance for retrial, which ruled on March 27 that the basic elements of the offense were not present, and acquitted Altan.
“Özgür Gündem solidarity” trial against Can Dündar adjourned
The seventh hearing of a trial against the former editor in chief of the Cumhuriyet daily Can Dündar on charges of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” on grounds that he took part in a solidarity campaign with the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem was held on March 27.
The 22nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul adjourned the trial to September 4, 2018, awaiting response from German authorities concerning a letter issued prior to the latest hearing in which the court requested Dündar’s statement to be taken in Germany, for the arrest warrant against the journalist has not been executed.
Atalay’s lawyers file 2nd application before Constitutional Court
Lawyers of the Cumhuriyet newspaper submitted a second application to the Constitutional Court on March 26 on behalf of the newspaper’s imprisoned Executive Board Chairman Akın Atalay, requesting the Constitutional Court to review his application, pending before the top court for more than 15 months.
Atalay has been in detention on remand for more than 510 days in the Silivri Prison as part of the ongoing trial against 19 columnists and executives of the Cumhuriyet newspaper.
The petition calls attention to the recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Constitutional Court rulings on Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan and requests the speedy adjudication of the application on behalf of Atalay, claiming that his detention is in violation of the law, the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The initial individual application on behalf of Atalay was submitted to the Constitutional Court on December 26, 2016, along with those filed on behalf of other executives and columnists of the paper. Among those applications, the top court has only rendered judgment on that of Turhan Günay, the editor of the newspaper’s book supplement, on January 11, 2018, in which it ruled that Günay’s right to personal liberty and security had been violated due to his unlawful detention on remand.
Alongside that of Atalay, individual applications on behalf of Murat Sabuncu, Güray Öz, Musa Kart, Kadri Gürsel, Hakan Karasinir, Önder Çelik, Bülent Utku and Mustafa Kemal Güngör are still pending before the Constitutional Court.
Former Fenerbahçe TV news manager released from prison
Yasir Kaya, a former news manager for Fenerbahçe TV who was arrested in August 2017 as part of an investigation into alleged ByLock users, was released from prison on March 24 pending the conclusion of his trial.
Appearing before the 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the latest hearing of his trial, Kaya and his lawyers requested his release on grounds of his child’s health issues while Kaya’s lawyers added that their client was not at flight risk.
Taking into account the time he spent in detention on remand and his child’s health condition, the court ruled to release Kaya pending trial with an overseas travel ban.
Journalist Duygu Erol released from custody on judicial control
Journalist Duygu Erol was released from custody on March 23, three days after she was arrested in Ankara on March 20.
Erol and 10 others who were detained as part of the same investigation, among whom were also executives from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), were sent to the Ankara Courthouse on March 23.
Erol was among five suspects referred to court for arrest on “membership” and “propaganda” charges. Accusations included their social media posts and press conferences they participated in 2016 and 2017. A Criminal Judgeship of Peace ruled to release all five on judicial control terms.
Journalist faces investigation for posing in front of TOMA
Journalist Fuat Yaşar, a Diyarbakır-based reporter for the news website 1HaberVar, is facing criminal investigation for posing for a photograph in front of a TOMA vehicle — an armored water cannon truck used in riot control.
Yaşar gave his statement to the anti-terror police on March 22 as part of the investigation, which was launched following an anonymous complaint filed concerning the journalist’s social media posts. Based on the anonymous tip off, a public prosecutor opened an investigation, accusing Yaşar of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The investigation file is said to include Yaşar’s previous reporting and social media posts concerning civilian casualties during the period of extensive curfews imposed on Turkey’s southeastern provinces.
Imprisoned ETHA editor, reporter to appear in court in July
İsminaz Temel, an editor for the Etkin news agency (ETHA), and her co-worker Havva Cuştan, a reporter for the same news agency, who have been in pretrial detention for more than 150 days, will appear before a court for the first hearing of the trial against them on July 16 and 17.
The news came after their long-awaited indictment was issued. The indictment, accepted by the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court, accuses the journalists and 21 others arrested as part of the same investigation of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Both journalists were arrested on October 19, 2017, during a sweeping operation alongside 21 other suspects that also included lawyers. Thirteen of the suspects including Temel and Cuştan have since been in detention on remand.
The indictment accuses Temel of having taken part in demonstrations, funerals and memorials that she attended for news coverage “on instruction from a terrorist organization.” Cuştan, who survived the deadly Suruç bombing of July 2015, is also accused of attending a number of demonstrations and events in 2014 and 2015 concerning enforced disappearances.
Journalist Cem Bahtiyar released from pretrial detention
Mete Cem Bahtiyar, a former reporter for the BirGün daily, who was arrested and jailed on February 7 in the Bandırma district of Turkey’s northwestern Balıkesir province, was released from pretrial detention on March 20.
In reviewing a recent petition filed by Bahtiyar’s lawyers requesting his release from the Bandırma Prison, the court ruled in favor of Bahtiyar and released the former journalist, who was arrested on “propaganda” charges on account of his social media posts and the news reports he penned for BirGün.
List of journalists in prison updated
P24 has updated its list of journalists in prison in Turkey, a list compiled from open sources, upon the recent release of journalists Mete Cem Bahtiyar and Yasir Kaya from prison. It has also recently become evident that Van-based journalist Ayhan Demir, the owner of the Çaldıran Ajans news website, who was arrested in 2017 on account of his social media posts and had been in prison on remand since, was released on February 28, 2018, by the court overseeing his trial.
In light of recent developments, at least 151 journalists are in prison in Turkey as of March 28, 2018. A detailed list can be found 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, Haberdar news website
9 Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist
10 Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
11 Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
12 Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet Foundation executive board chairman
13 Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
14 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
15 Ali Akkuş, Zaman
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 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
25 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
26 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
27 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
28 Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
29 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
30 Behram Kılıç
31 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
32 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
33 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
34 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
35 Cuma Kaya, Zaman
36 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
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 Erol Yüksel, TRT News Department vice president
46 Erol Zavar, Odak magazine owner and newsroom director
47 Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum
48 Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency
49 Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief
50 Fevzi Yazıcı, Zaman chief designer
51 Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist
52 Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine
53 Gültekin Avcı
54 Habip Güler, Zaman reporter
55 Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director
56 Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor
57 Hakan Taşdelen
58 Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)
59 Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist
60 Hamza Günerigök, TRT
61 Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist
62 Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor
63 Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper owner and managing editor
64 Havva Cuştan, ETHA reporter
65 Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
66 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
67 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
68 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
69 Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
70 İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
71 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
72 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
73 İdris Yılmaz
74 İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor-in-chief
75 İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
76 İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
77 Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter
78 Kemal Demir, TV 10
79 Kemal Özer, Evrensel
80 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
81 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
82 Mehmet Ali Ay
83 Mehmet Altan
84 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
85 Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
86 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
87 Mehmet Gündem
88 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
89 Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
90 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
91 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
92 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
93 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
94 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
95 Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
96 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
97 Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
98 Murat Çapan, Nokta
99 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
100 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
101 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
102 Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter
103 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
104 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
105 Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
106 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
107 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief
108 Nedim Türfent, DİHA
109 Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner
110 Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist
111 Nuri Durna, TRT
112 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
113 Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative
114 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
115 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
116 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
117 Özcan Keser, TRT reporter
118 Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
119 Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
120 Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
121 Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ
122 Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
123 Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ
124 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor
125 Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter
126 Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor
127 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
128 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
129 Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
130 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
131 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
132 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
133 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
134 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
135 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
136 Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
137 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
138 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
139 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
140 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
141 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
142 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
143 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
144 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
145 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
146 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
147 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
148 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
149 Zafer Özsoy
150 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
151 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter