- A dispute has emerged over whether to merge proceedings in the case against journalist Sedef Kabaş, who has been on trial for more than three years on charges of “insulting the president” over her social media posts.
- The Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which has been hearing the case on Istanbul’s Asian side, referred the case to a regional appeals court after the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance rejected its request to consolidate the proceedings.
Meral Danyıldız
The 11th hearing in the case against journalist Sedef Kabaş, who faces charges of “insulting the president” over 25 social media posts, was held at the Istanbul Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on the city’s Asian side.
The hearing, scheduled for 10:50 a.m., began at noon. Kabaş did not attend, but her lawyer, Selen Sınmaz, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer, Mehmet İnal, were present.
İnal said Erdoğan was maintaining his complaint against Kabaş and requested that she be punished.
“We reiterate our previous statements made throughout the proceedings. We request our client’s immediate acquittal,” Sınmaz said.
Court issues procedural ruling
At the previous hearing, the court ruled that a request should be made to consolidate Kabaş’s case with another case pending before the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, citing the potential application of Article 43/1 of the Turkish Penal Code if the alleged offense was proven.
However, the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, located at the Istanbul Justice Palace, rejected the proposed consolidation.
Following the rejection, the judge presiding over the case at the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance referred the case to a regional appeals court to resolve the dispute over whether the proceedings should be consolidated.
Background
A new lawsuit was filed against journalist Sedef Kabaş on charges of “insulting the president” over 25 posts on her social media account. Prosecutors alleged that the posts demonstrated an “intent to insult” and sought her conviction. The first hearing was held on June 22, 2023, at the Istanbul Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
Kabaş had previously been sentenced to two years and four months in prison on the same charge and was released in March 2022 after spending 49 days in pretrial detention.
At the first hearing in the new case, Kabaş denied the charges. Her lawyer at the time, Uğur Poyraz, cited the European Court of Human Rights' ruling in the Şorli v. Turkey case and requested that the proceedings be dismissed and Kabaş acquitted.
At the 10th hearing, Erdoğan's lawyer, Mehmet İnal, argued that Kabaş's statements were explicit and public and called for her conviction. Kabaş's lawyer, Selen Sınmaz, called for her immediate acquittal, noting that the ruling in the case before the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance had been overturned.
The prosecutor, meanwhile, requested that outstanding procedural matters be addressed.
The court subsequently ruled that a request should be made to consolidate Kabaş's case with another case before the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, citing the potential application of Article 43/1 of the Turkish Penal Code if the alleged offense was proven. The provision governs repeated offenses committed as part of a single criminal intent.
The judge also rejected the defense's request for acquittal and adjourned the hearing until today.
