- In the case filed over Cumhuriyet’s news report on the high school entrance exam (LGS), the failure to notify the defendant of the indictment for months has stalled the proceedings.
- Journalist Can Uğur, who is on trial, will appear before a judge nearly one year after the indictment was prepared.
Semra Pelek
The first hearing in the case filed against Cumhuriyet newspaper’s news director Can Uğur under the “Disinformation Law,” over the June 17, 2025 report titled “Was the future of 1 million students tampered with? LGS questions allegedly shared in WhatsApp group before exam ended”, was held today (Jan. 13, 2026) at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul.
Uğur did not attend the hearing, while his lawyer Enes Ermaner was present in court. Ermaner stated that the indictment, which was prepared nearly five months ago, on Sept. 29, 2025, still had not been served to his client.
As a result, a defense could not be presented, and Ermaner said Can Uğur could only be made available at the next hearing.
Right to defense postponed: Uğur to be heard one year after indictment
The court postponed the hearing to Sept. 17, 2026, at 11:50 a.m., in order to allow time for the indictment to be served and for Uğur’s testimony to be taken.
This means Uğur’s first defense statement will be heard nearly a year after the indictment was prepared. The failure to serve the indictment for such a long period is being viewed as a serious violation of the right to a fair trial, as it prevents the defendant from exercising his right to defense.
What had happened?
In its report published on June 17, 2025, Cumhuriyet claimed that questions and answers from the LGS exam were shared in a WhatsApp group while the exam was still in progress.
The article conveyed public concerns over exam security and also included a statement from the Ministry of National Education (MEB).
Following the publication of the report, MEB filed a criminal complaint against journalist Can Uğur. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office demanded that Uğur be tried under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code for “openly disseminating misleading information.”
The indictment alleged that Uğur “spread false information and created public concern,” and sought a prison sentence of between one and three years. The prosecutor also requested that Uğur be deprived of certain rights under Article 53 of the Penal Code.
After the claims in Cumhuriyet’s report, MEB announced that investigations had been launched against 29 individuals.
Özgür Türk, Director General of Information Technologies at the ministry, was dismissed from his post.
Then-Minister of Education Yusuf Tekin also confirmed the content of the news story in a public statement, saying:
“What you’re referring to is true. It was released earlier than we had intended.”
