- Journalists Barış Pehlivan, Seda Selek, Serhan Asker, Suat Toktaş, and Kürşad Oğuz continue to stand trial over allegations of “recording a private conversation” in a case where the complainant has yet to testify.
- A court has issued a warrant to compel complainant Satılmış Büyükcanayakın to appear after he failed to attend four hearings. The police have been officially notified.
Semra Pelek
The journalists are on trial for publishing a conversation with expert witness Satılmış Büyükcanayakın, whose name had been disclosed by Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The case, which involves charges of “recording non-public conversations between individuals” and “publishing recorded conversations through the press,” held its fourth hearing today at the 54th Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul.
Previously, the journalists were tried in the same court over the same news report and acquitted of “attempting to influence a public official performing judicial duties.” The case has continued solely on the charges of “recording and publishing non-public conversations.” However, since the beginning of the trial, the complainant Satılmış Büyükcanayakın has not attended any hearings and was again absent today.
Judge: No ruling can be issued without hearing the complainant
The presiding judge stated that the hearing started late due to the court being on duty and noted that complainant Satılmış Büyükcanayakın has not yet testified, which means the case cannot be concluded. The hearing then proceeded to the defense statements.
Pehlivan: “We are being prosecuted because we did good journalism”
Journalist Barış Pehlivan emphasized his 23 years of experience in journalism, stating:
“I contacted the complainant solely for journalistic purposes and asked about the allegations against him. Reaching out to both parties is a fundamental principle of journalism. If we had written İmamoğlu’s claims without calling him, we wouldn’t be on trial. We are being prosecuted because we did good journalism, and I believe that’s the real motive. If we are on trial for publishing this recording, why aren’t former AKP member Hamza Dağ and former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek being prosecuted?”
Pehlivan noted that more than 150 investigations have been opened against him in the past and that he has served time in prison. He added that this is the first time he is facing a travel ban: “I cannot see my 8-year-old daughter, who lives in Italy with her mother. Even when prosecutors affiliated with the Gülen movement filed cases against me, I didn’t flee. Would I flee now?”
Oğuz: “This case criminalizes journalism”
Journalist Kürşad Oğuz, accused of recording the conversation and sending it to Suat Toktaş, said in his defense that he had never seen such a case in his 30-year career. “We are being prosecuted for doing journalism. What’s on trial here is journalism itself,” he said.
Oğuz stated that he had to cancel eight interviews due to the travel ban: “This judicial control has effectively turned into a punishment. I cannot explain this to my interviewees.”
Toktaş: “The judiciary is at the mercy of the expert witness’s whims”
Journalist Suat Toktaş said they had been forced to testify due to a trial that has lasted a year. “I’ve been a journalist for 38 years and am now managing a TV channel for the sixth time. What we did is journalism; at this point, even explaining it feels burdensome. We’re people who had never set foot in a police station in 38 years, and now we’re on trial for practicing journalism.”
Toktaş emphasized that the audio recording was not made without consent: “Barış Pehlivan called the complainant expert witness, identified himself, named his organization, and even joked around. How is that without consent? Others published the same recording, and the expert witness also spoke to the pro-government daily Yeni Şafak, but only we are on trial.”
He criticized the complainant for not attending any of the four hearings: “This is mocking the judiciary. We can’t ask him any questions because he never shows up. We’re facing a prosecution that depends on someone who can’t even be bothered to attend.” Toktaş also mentioned that he cannot visit his daughters living abroad: “This affects not just me, but also our children. This judicial control has turned into a punishment.”
“The complainant must be heard”
Toktaş’s lawyer demanded that the complainant be heard in court, stating:
“This person must come here and be heard. We want to ask him: ‘How did you manage to go to the prosecutor who launched an ex officio investigation the very next day—was it just a hunch? How did you reach the anti-terror prosecutor in a restricted area on the seventh floor? Why did you go to the anti-terror prosecutor instead of the on-duty prosecutor?’ Please do not conclude this case without hearing the complainant. All we are asking is for the travel bans to be lifted.”
Prosecutor: Do not lift the travel ban
The prosecutor requested that deficiencies in the case file be addressed and argued that the travel ban was still “proportional” at this stage, recommending that judicial control measures remain in place.
Court lifts travel ban, orders complainant to be brought in by force
The court ruled to lift the travel bans, stating that the intended effect had already been achieved. It also ordered that complainant Satılmış Büyükcanayakın be brought to court by force and notified the police accordingly. The next hearing was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 13.
What happened?
A case was filed against journalists Barış Pehlivan, Suat Toktaş, Seda Selek, Kürşad Oğuz, and Serhan Asker for publishing a phone conversation with expert witness Satılmış Büyükcanayakın, who had been named by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The journalists were charged with “recording non-public conversations between individuals,” “publishing recorded conversations through the press,” and “attempting to influence a public official performing judicial duties” at the 54th Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul.
At the first hearing on March 4, 2025, the court acquitted the journalists of the charge of “attempting to influence a public official performing judicial duties.” The charges of “listening to and recording non-public conversations between individuals” continued after the court referred the file to the reconciliation bureau, citing an incomplete reconciliation process.
At the same hearing, the court ordered the release of journalist Suat Toktaş, who had been in pre-trial detention for 34 days. While the court lifted the weekly signature requirement imposed on all defendants, it decided to maintain the travel ban.
