Journalists in State of Emergency – 131

 Vural Nasuhbeyoğlu, the former responsible managing editor of the Evrensel daily, and Mehmet Arif Koşar, the newspaper’s former publisher, on March 29, were each handed down one year in prison for “insulting the president” in a news story published in the newspaper on October 14, 2015. The Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance then commuted both sentences to a fine of TL 7,000.
 
Koşar and Nasuhbeyoğlu did not attend the hearing, where they were represented by the newspaper’s lawyer, Devrim Avcı. The lawyer told the court that the news story, which reported on the reactions from 16 Latin American political parties in the wake of the deadly suicide bombing of October 10, 2015, in Ankara, should be seen as exercising the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
 
Avcı said the case was opened after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the removal of a previous order issued by a public prosecutor that held that the said news story did not include any expressions that amounted to insult.
 
“This verdict proves that the press is not free in Turkey,” Avcı said, adding that they would appeal the verdict.
 
 
Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor taken into custody
 
İshak Yasul, the responsible managing editor of the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper, whose head office in Istanbul was raided by police earlier in the week, was taken into custody on March 30.
 
More than 20 employees of both the newspaper and Gün Matbaa, the printing company which prints the newspaper, had been detained during the raids, conducted as part of an investigation launched into the paper by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on allegations of the newspaper’s ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Those in custody are accused of “membership in an armed terrorist group” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” A Criminal Judgeship of Peace had also appointed a board of trustees to both Özgürlükçü Demokrasi and Gün Matbaa.
 
Printing companies ordered not to print Welat newspaper
 
In a related development, the March 30, 2018 edition of the Kurdish-language newspaper Welat, which used to be printed by the same printing company as Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, could not be printed due to the company being seized by the government. The newspaper’s Friday edition was instead printed through xerox.
 
The Mezopotamya news agency reported that other newspaper printing companies contacted by Welat executives refused to print the newspaper as they had received “orders not to print” Welat.
 
 
Eren Keskin, Reyhan Çapan handed down 7.5 years in prison each
 
Lawyer Eren Keskin, who briefly served as the co-editor-in-chief of the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem, and the newspaper’s former managing editor Reyhan Çapan were each sentenced to a total of 7.5 years in prison in two separate trials against them.
 
A detailed report about the March 29 hearings can be found here.
 
 
Case against Murat Aksoy dismissed
 
A non-pecuniary compensation case against journalist Murat Aksoy, launched in December 2015 upon a complaint filed by the executives of the Yeni Şafak newspaper on grounds that the journalist violated their personal rights in a documentary, was dismissed.
 
The 18th Court of General Jurisdiction of Istanbul on March 30 ruled that Aksoy’s remarks featured in the documentary “Persona non Grata” did not constitute a violation of the personal rights of Yeni Şafak executives and dismissed the case.
 
 
Jin News reporter Filiz Zeyrek taken into custody
 
Filiz Zeyrek, a reporter for the feminist news outlet Jin News, was taken into custody on March 30 in Adana during early morning raids by the police. Zeyrek was detained on the allegation of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist group” in her social media posts. Police also searched the homes of the suspects detained during the raids and confiscated digital material found during the searches. The detainees were taken to the Adana Police Department.
 
 
Writer İhsan Eliaçık faces prison term for his articles
 
A prosecutor is seeking a prison term of up to seven years and six months for writer and theologian İhsan Eliaçık for allegedly “conducting propaganda for the PKK” in his articles posted online.
 
Presenting his final opinion during the latest hearing of the trial against Eliaçık on March 28 at the 26th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, the prosecutor alleged that the writer and theologian had attempted to create a negative public image of the operations conducted by state security forces. Some of the articles penned by Eliaçık were also included in the prosecutor’s final opinion.
 
The court adjourned the trial to allow time for Eliaçık’s defense statement to be ready.
 
 
Özgürlükçü Demokrasi and Welat distributor briefly detained
 
Mizgin Fendik, a Van-based distributor for the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi and Welat newspapers, was briefly detained on March 29 by the police.
 
Mezopotamya news agency reported that Fendik was taken into custody early on March 29 on Maraş Street as she was distributing the Welat newspaper to its subscribers. She was released from custody a few hours later.
 
 
Azadiya Welat distributors acquitted
 
Twelve distributors of the shuttered Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat, who were among 24 distributors of the paper detained during a raid on the the paper’s head office on August 28, 2016, were acquitted of “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization” charge during the second hearing of the case against them on March 28 at the 10th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.
 
The Mezopotamya news agency reported that distributors Hamdullah Bayram, Hayat Yılmaz, Mehmet Emin Kaya, Pusat Bulut, Mecrum Tekol, Ziyan Karahan, Ercan Yeltaş, Esra Solin Dal, Mehmet Aydın, Mehmet Emin Akgün, Cengiz Aslan and Ahmet Kızılay are acquitted due to a lack of substantial evidence that they had committed the alleged offense. The 12 were standing trial in groups of three for distributing the newspaper. They each faced up to 15 years imprisonment.
 
 
Academics issue “Turkey: Freedom of Expression in Jeopardy” report
 
Academics Yaman Akdeniz and Kerem Altıparmak have jointly issued a report on the state of freedom of expression in Turkey titled “Freedom of Expression in Jeopardy: Violations of the Rights of Authors, Publishers and Academics under the State of Emergency.”
 
Akdeniz presented the report, compiled for English PEN and issued in both Turkish and English languages, on March 28 at the Free Word Centre in London.
 
The report highlights that Turkey is currently “going through a period in which anyone thought to be in the opposition, including but not limited to academics, members of the parliament, artists, journalists and writers, can be investigated, arrested and prosecuted for disseminating terrorist propaganda or for being a member of a terrorist organization.”
 
The report also provides a detailed account of the circumstances faced by 80 writers being investigated, 77 of whom are journalists in its section titled “Violations against Publishers and Writers.”
 
The English version of the report can be reached here.
 
 
List of journalists in prison
 
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
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.