- In the file of journalist Perihan Sevda Erkılınç, which has been going back and forth between the courts of Istanbul and İzmir, a new crisis over consolidation has arisen once again.
- The file sent by the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court to İzmir was rejected again. The process has been taken to the Court of Cassation.
Semra Pelek
In the trial opened against journalist Perihan Sevda Erkılınç, who is being tried on the charge of "membership in an organization," it has not been clarified yet which court will handle the case. While the authority crisis between the High Criminal Courts of Istanbul and İzmir continues, the file has now been referred to the Court of Cassation to resolve the authority issue.
While the investigation in Istanbul was ongoing against Erkılınç, another trial on the same charge was continuing at the İzmir 19th High Criminal Court. For this reason, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had sent the file to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office during the investigation stage. The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared an indictment with a request for consolidation with the ongoing trial, but the İzmir 19th High Criminal Court rejected this request.
After the objection process, the file was assigned to the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court. In the hearing held on November 12, the court brought the consolidation decision back onto the agenda. In the court’s decision, it was stated that there is a factual and legal discontinuity between the cases opened in Istanbul and İzmir. However, considering the nature of the charges directed at defendant Perihan Sevda Erkılınç and the current state of the evidence in the files, it was stated that due to the scope of the charge of “membership in an armed organization,” it is legally necessary for the evidence to be evaluated together.
Therefore, ruling that the cases must be heard together, the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court recommended the consolidation of the files so that the legal status of the defendant can be determined accordingly. For this purpose, the court requested the İzmir 19th High Criminal Court to give its consent for consolidation.
However, the İzmir 19th High Criminal Court rejected this request for the second time. Thereupon, the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court applied to the 5th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation with the request that the file be consolidated with the case in İzmir. While the process has been carried to the Court of Cassation stage in order to overcome the authority crisis, the case in İzmir continues in its own course.
What had happened?
A trial was opened against journalist Perihan Sevda Erkılınç on the charge of “membership in an organization,” based on her social media posts, May 1st calls, and witness statements. At the first hearing held at the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on November 12, 2025, Erkılınç stated that she has celiac disease and asthma, and explained that her health had deteriorated due to the conditions in Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison, where she had been detained since May 2, 2025, and requested her release.
Erkılınç said that the materials found during the search of her home and presented in the indictment as evidence were within the scope of journalistic activities. Banners signed by Partizan, reading “Say no to subcontracted work and insecurity! To the squares on May 1st!” and “Against poverty and crisis, to the squares on May 1st!” along with a notebook were seized in her home.
She was released under judicial control at the end of the first hearing, held on the 194th day of her detention.
