Journalists in State of Emergency – 137
Jailed journalist İdris Yılmaz faces new investigation; Evrensel journalist Çağrı Sarı stands trial on “slander” charge for “Paradise Papers” reports

22.04.2018
Van-based journalist İdris Yılmaz, currently in pretrial detention at the Elazığ Prison, is facing a new investigation, launched following a complaint filed by a contractor who assaulted the journalist last year.
Yılmaz was arrested during a police raid on his apartment in Van on account of a photograph he posted online through his social media account. He was referred to court for detention on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist group” charge. The court jailed Yılmaz on the same charge pending trial and sent him to the Erciş Prison in Van. Yılmaz was later transferred to the Elazığ Maximum Security Prison, where he has been in detention on remand for the past three months.
Yılmaz will appear before a court on “slander” charges as part of the new investigation, launched by the Erciş Chief Public Prosecutor’s office.
After Yılmaz was sent to prison, yet another investigation was launched into Yılmaz following a complaint by the Erciş district governor, but details of the investigation file are undisclosed.
Yılmaz is being held in solitary confinement in the Elazığ Prison.
ETHA editor, reporter jailed on terrorism-related charges
Etkin news agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and reporter Pınar Gayıp were jailed pending trial by an Istanbul court on April 19 on “membership in a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges. This development brought the number of journalists in prison in Turkey to at least 165.
A report on Şahin and Gayıp’s detention can be accessed here.
Up to 15 years in prison sought for Nur Ener Kılınç
Nur Ener Kılınç, an editor for the Yeni Asya newspaper, currently in house arrest, appeared before the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on April 19 at the latest hearing of her trial on the accusation of “membership in a terrorist organization.” The prosecutor submitted his final opinion, requesting Kılınç is sentenced to between 7.5 and 15 years in prison on the same charge.
A report on the hearing can be accessed here.
Koray Çalışkan handed down prison sentence for tweets
An Istanbul court on April 19 handed down academic and columnist Koray Çalışkan a prison sentence of 1 year, 6 months and 22 days on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
The accusation against Çalışkan in the trial, overseen by the 24th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, was based on his social media posts on Twitter, in which he was said to conduct propaganda in favor of the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY).”
Judicial control measures imposed on Güreş, Aybey lifted
Gaziantep-based journalist Murat Güreş and two other local journalists, Furkan Gökşen and Metin Aybey, appeared before a local court on April 19 on the charge of “breaching the confidentiality of an investigation” by reporting about the contents of the statement an influential local businessperson gave to a prosecutor. The court ruled to lift all judicial control measures on the journalists and adjourned the trial until September 27, 2018.
A detailed report on the hearing, monitored by P24 in the courtroom, can be accessed here.
First hearing held in “Paradise Papers” trial against Evrensel
The first hearing of a trial against Çağrı Sarı, the former responsible managing editor of Evrensel daily, in which she faces up to six years in prison on “insult” and “slander” charges for publishing two news stories about “Paradise Papers” in November 2017, was held on April 18 at the Bakırköy 2nd Criminal court of First Instance.
The court had recently accepted the indictment against Evrensel and its former responsible managing editor, issued upon a complaint by Energy Minister Berat Albayrak and his brother Serhat Albayrak. Serhat Albayrak’s name was mentioned in “Paradise Papers,” a set of 13.4 million leaked confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments by more than 120 politicians, among other high profile names, from 50 countries.
Evrensel lawyer Devrim Avcı and the Albayraks’ lawyer Hatice Özay were in attendance at the April 18 hearing, during which the court accepted Özay’s request to represent the Albayrak brothers in the trial, and set June 13 as the date of the next hearing.
Özgür Gündem solidarity trial adjourned until October
The fifth hearing in the trial against human rights defender and academic Şebnem Korur Financı, Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu and mathematician and writer Ahmet Nesin for engaging in a solidarity campaign for the shuttered daily Özgür Gündem was held on April 18 at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The trial was adjourned until October.
A report on the hearing, monitored in the courtroom by P24, can be accessed here.
Other freedom of speech cases of the past week
Ayşe Çelik, a school teacher who was convicted of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” in April 2017 for her remarks on a live TV show in 2015, was sent to prison with her baby daughter in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on April 20 after her request for an additional period of delay had been rejected.
Seven academics who signed 2016’s Academics for Peace declaration appeared in the second and first hearings of the respective trials against them on April 19 at the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The academics are accused of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” for having signed the said declaration. Academics Canay Şahin, Emin Alper, Kerem Eksen and Ozan Çağlayan gave their statements to their respective trial courts, which adjourned all four trials to October 2. The rest of the academics, Burcu Kaya, Z.Y. and Kuban Altınel, were appearing in their first hearings. The court adjourned these trials until June 28.
An Izmir court on April 17 handed down musician Suavi Saygan a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days for “insulting the president” in a public speech he delivered during an event in Izmir on October 29, 2016. The Izmir 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance then commuted Saygan’s sentence to a legal fine of TL 14,000.
On April 19, Veysi Altay, the director of a documentary titled Nû Jîn, and Dicle Anter, who had the film shown at the Yılmaz Güney Theater, appeared in the first hearing of a trial against them on charges of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The charges stem from the documentary. The 2nd High Criminal Court of Batman adjourned the trial until June 19.
The fourth hearing of a trial in which documentarist, video-activist and journalist Kazım Kızıl stands accused of “insulting the president” in his social media posts as well as violating the Demonstrations and Protest Marches Law, was held on April 16 in Izmir. The İzmir 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance set June 4, 2018, as the date of the next hearing.
The first hearing of a criminal case against Ferhat Tunç in which the musician is accused of “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” on account of a Twitter message he posted on April 16, 2017, was held on April 18 in Istanbul. Tunç did not attend the hearing due to his sibling’s passing. The Büyükçekmece 4th Criminal Court of First Instance adjourned the trial until July 6, 2018.
On April 18, the deputy chairman of Turkey’s Labour Party (EMEP), Mehmet Türkmen, was released from pretrial detention and placed on house arrest by the 8th High Criminal Court of Gaziantep, where the politician is on trial on the charge of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” on account of his social media posts critical of Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin. The court set July 5 as the date of the third hearing.
Also on April 18, an Eskişehir-based member of EMEP, Sinan Niron, was convicted of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Niron had been arrested on January 31 on account of his social media posts concerning Turkey’s Afrin operation. He was later jailed pending trial. Niron was handed down a sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison. The court deferred the sentence and Niron was released from prison.
List of journalists in prison
(as of April 20, 2018)
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 journalist
11 Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
12 Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
13 Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet Foundation executive board chairman
14 Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
15 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
16 Ali Akkuş, Zaman
17 Ali Aşikar, Azadiya Welat
18 Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
19 Ali Bulaç, former Zaman columnist
20 Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter
21 Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
22 Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
23 Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
24 Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
25 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
26 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
27 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
28 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
29 Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
30 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
31 Behram Kılıç
32 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
33 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
34 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
35 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
36 Cuma Kaya, Zaman
37 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
38 Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV
39 Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat
40 Emin Demir, freelancer
41 Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter
42 Ercan Gün, Fox TV
43 Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor
44 Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor
45 Erdoğan Alayumat, Dihaber reporter
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 Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
68 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
69 Hicran Ürün, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
70 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
71 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
72 Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
73 İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
74 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
75 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
76 İdris Yılmaz
77 İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner
78 İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor-in-chief
79 İshak Yasul, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor
80 İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
81 İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
82 Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter
83 Kemal Demir, TV 10
84 Kemal Özer, Evrensel
85 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
86 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
87 Mehmet Ali Ay
88 Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
89 Mehmet Altan
90 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
91 Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
92 Mehmet Dursun
93 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
94 Mehmet Gündem
95 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
96 Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
97 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
98 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
99 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
100 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
101 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
102 Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
103 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
104 Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
105 Murat Çapan, Nokta
106 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
107 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
108 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
109 Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter
110 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
111 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
112 Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
113 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
114 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief
115 Nedim Türfent, DİHA
116 Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner
117 Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist
118 Nuri Durna, TRT
119 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
120 Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative
121 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
122 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
123 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
124 Özcan Keser, TRT reporter
125 Pınar Gayıp, ETHA reporter
126 Pınar Tarlak, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
127 Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
128 Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
129 Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
130 Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi editor
131 Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ
132 Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
133 Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ
134 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor
135 Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter
136 Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor
137 Semiha Şahin, ETHA editor
138 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
139 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
140 Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter
141 Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
142 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
143 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
144 Songül Yücel, Önsöz editor in chief
145 Süleyman Acar, Mücadele Birliği editor in chief
146 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
147 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
148 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
149 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
150 Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
151 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
152 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
153 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
154 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
155 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
156 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
157 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
158 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
159 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
160 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
161 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
162 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
163 Zafer Özsoy
164 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
165 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.