This week, journalists Pınar Gayıp and Elif Bayburt, who had been in pretrial detention for seven months, were released at their first hearings in Istanbul, while Nadiye Gürbüz remained in custody. During the same week, journalist Tuğba Tekerek was arrested in Ankara over a single news report about the LGBTİ+ movement in Georgia. Access to MLSA’s X account, @mlsaturkey, was blocked in Türkiye.
In five hearings monitored by MLSA, nine journalists, one academic, one writer, one translator and one sociologist appeared before judges on charges of “membership in an organization,” “aiding an organization” and “propaganda for an organization.” In all of the hearings monitored, news content and reporting notes were presented as evidence; statements by secret witnesses or cooperating witnesses were included in the case files in four of them. All of the hearings started late because of the courts’ workloads. During the week, hearings were also held in the cases of journalists Burcu Özkaya Günaydın, Gözde Şeker and İbrahim Kahveci, as well as former AKUT President Nasuh Mahruki.
Journalists in pretrial detention: Two released, one remains in custody
ETHA reporter Pınar Gayıp, who is represented by MLSA, was released after more than seven months in pretrial detention at the first hearing of her trial on a charge of “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” held Sept. 14 at the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court. Mustafa Tezel, a witness whose statements were cited in the indictment, told the court that he had made no such statement and did not know Gayıp. Two other witnesses said they had seen Gayıp taking photographs but had no other information about her. The court imposed a travel ban on Gayıp and adjourned the hearing until 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 7. Speaking after her release from prison, Gayıp said, “I am one of the journalists who will continue to defend journalism and practice journalism, defend the public’s right to information in this country and write the truth. That is why they will not be able to silence the free press.”
ETHA reporter Elif Bayburt, who had also been in pretrial detention for seven months, was released at the first hearing of her trial on a charge of “membership in an organization,” held Sept. 17 at the Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court. News content, secret witness statements, social media posts and a report by MASAK, Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, were cited as evidence in the case. The witnesses named in the indictment did not attend the hearing. The court imposed a travel ban on Bayburt and adjourned the hearing until 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 10. Our observer noted that the judge addressed the defendant using the informal Turkish pronoun “sen.”
The first hearing in the trial of journalist Nadiye Gürbüz, who has been in pretrial detention for seven months on a charge of “membership in an organization,” was held Sept. 15 at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court. A secret witness testified at the hearing via SEGBİS, Türkiye’s judicial audiovisual communication system. The court ordered Gürbüz to remain in pretrial detention on the grounds that all nine cooperating witnesses named in the indictment had not yet been heard and adjourned the hearing for about three months, until 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 8.
The same witness, Mustafa Tezel, is named in the indictments against Gayıp, Gürbüz and detained lawyer Sezin Uçar, whose first hearing is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Cases against journalists
The 17th hearing in the trial of former Turkish Medical Association Central Council President Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, former Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Türkiye representative Erol Önderoğlu and writer Ahmet Nesin, who face charges of “making propaganda for an organization,” “publicly inciting the commission of a crime” and “praising a crime and a criminal” over their support for the now-defunct Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief on Watch campaign, was held Sept. 15 at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. The defendants did not attend the hearing. The court decided to await a response to a request sent for Nesin’s defense statement to be taken and adjourned the hearing until 10 a.m. on Dec. 24.
The fourth hearing in the trial of journalists Erdoğan Alayumat, Tuğçe Yılmaz, Suzan Demir, Gülcan Dereli and Kemal Taylan Abatan, translator Serap Güneş and sociologist Berfin Atlı on a charge of “aiding an organization” over paid news reports they contributed to the Germany-based Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper and its arts and culture supplement, PolitikArt, was held Sept. 17 at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. News content, secret witness statements, a report by MASAK, Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, and financial transactions were cited as evidence in the case. The defendants gave their defense statements. The court ordered that the travel bans imposed on the defendants remain in place and adjourned the hearing until 10:20 a.m. on Dec. 8.
Journalist Gözde Şeker gave her defense statement for the first time on Sept. 16 in a case in which she and journalist İbrahim Kahveci are being tried on charges of “slander” and “insult” following a complaint by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli. The indictment prepared following Bahçeli’s complaint had previously been returned four times by three separate courts on different grounds.
Journalist Burcu Özkaya Günaydın was not acquitted in her case despite a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling that found a rights violation. The Hatay 2nd High Criminal Court, in southern Türkiye, ruled Sept. 15 to dismiss the case on the grounds that the five-year supervision period under the deferment of the announcement of the verdict had expired.
Former AKUT President Nasuh Mahruki, who had been in pretrial detention since July 17, was sentenced Sept. 16 to one year in prison in his trial on a charge of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility.” The court ordered Mahruki’s release after handing down the sentence.
“My Family Is Safe” operations: Journalist Tuğba Tekerek arrested
Journalist Tuğba Tekerek, who was detained overnight from Sept. 13 to Sept. 14 and taken to Ankara over a news report she prepared for Kaos GL on the situation of LGBTİ+ people ahead of elections in Georgia, was arrested Sept. 15 as part of the “My Family Is Safe” investigation. Prosecutors had sought the arrest of all 20 people detained, including members of Kaos GL’s governing and supervisory boards. A total of 13 people were arrested, including Tekerek, seven members of Kaos GL’s governing and supervisory boards and five trans women. MLSA is representing Tekerek.
Tekerek, who was identified in a police report as the “administrator of the Kaos GL Instagram account,” is being held in a ward for ordinary criminal prisoners at Sincan Prison in Ankara. In a letter sent from prison, Tekerek said, “Because in the eyes of some I am not an ‘acceptable journalist,’ I was thrown into the bag of an operation and arrested on an accusation that has absolutely nothing to do with reality.” She added: “It is clear that such arrests are intended to intimidate journalists and punish journalism. But there will always be journalists who pursue the truth.”
Of the 18 people detained in the western city of İzmir as part of the operations, 16 were arrested Sept. 14. Police officers intervened in a press statement held Sept. 15 outside the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan to protest the operations, detaining 106 people, including BirGün reporter Sarya Toprak and ARD German TV reporter Şener Azak, who were covering the event. Azak, who is represented by MLSA’s Legal Unit, was released that evening, while Toprak was released Sept. 16. During her questioning, Toprak was asked not only about the protest but also about her social media posts concerning the “My Family Is Safe” operations.
Access blocks: MLSA’s X account blocked in Türkiye
MLSA’s X account, @mlsaturkey, was blocked from access in Türkiye over a news report shared about an operation targeting LGBTİ+ associations. MLSA lawyers appealed the decision, and the association continues to post from the @mlsaturkiye account.
The bar associations of Adıyaman, Ağrı, Batman, Bingöl, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Iğdır, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak and Van, all in eastern and southeastern Türkiye, issued a joint written statement with MLSA, the Evrensel newspaper, Amnesty International Türkiye, Academics for Peace, and numerous journalists, rights defenders, civil society organizations and social media accounts in response to the access blocks imposed on them. The 14 bar associations said they viewed the access-blocking decisions with concern.
New cases and other developments
A lawsuit was filed against journalist Canan Coşkun, documentary filmmaker Kazım Kızıl and Şaban Vatan, the father of 11-year-old Rabia Naz Vatan, who died under suspicious circumstances in 2018 in the Eynesil district of Giresun, on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast. The case concerns an interview they conducted with a witness at the scene while investigating Rabia Naz’s death. The first hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Journalist Selahattin Günday was arrested for a second time on a charge of “establishing a criminal organization” following an appeal against his arrest as part of an investigation into the death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu.
It emerged that the three-page indictment against lawyer Sezin Uçar, who has been in pretrial detention for five months and is set to stand trial on a charge of “membership in the MLKP,” is based on statements from 13 people who benefited from effective-repentance provisions. The first hearing in the case is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.
