March 27th, Monday
- The third hearing of the trial in which author Cafer Solgun faces “openly insulting a public official because of his duties” charge will be held in the Nazımiye Criminal Court of First Instance, at 09.55. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents a tweet Solgun had shared on his personal account on 13 February 2022 and which the prosecutor claims to have been discovered upon complaint by the former Nazımiye District Governor Uğur Tutkan. In the cited tweet, Solgun criticized the photo shared on the official Twitter account of the Nazımiye District Governorate and in which Tutkan posed with armed individuals in front of the Düzgün Baba Djemhouse. At the first hearing of the trial held on 17 November 2022, Solgun’s lawyer revealed that the cited tweet was not in the case file. The court decided to issue a writ to the Nazımiye Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office so that the screenshot of the tweet can be submitted to the case file. At the second hearing of the trial held on 23 February 2023, the prosecutor requested Solgun to be sentenced for “openly insulting a public official because of his duties.”
- The third hearing of the trial in which author Rüstem Avcı faces “openly insulting a public official because of his duties” charge will be held in the Nazımiye Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.00. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents a tweet Solgun had shared on his personal account on 12 February 2022 and which the prosecutor claims to have been discovered upon complaint by the former Nazımiye District Governor Uğur Tutkan. In the cited tweet, Avcı criticized the photo shared on the official Twitter account of the Nazımiye District Governorate and in which Tutkan posed with armed individuals in front of the Düzgün Baba Djemhouse. At the second hearing of the trial held on 21 March 2023, the prosecutor requested Avcı to be sentenced for “openly insulting a public official because of his duties.”
March 28th, Tuesday
- The fourth hearing of the retrial in which journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and director Çayan Demirel face “making propaganda for an armed terrorist organization” charge will be held in the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court, at 10.20. Mavioğlu and Demirel stood trial because of their documentary Bakur (North) which they had produced in 2015 while the Solution Process was still going on. They were accused of producing a documentary which is claimed to “legitimize or praise the violent, forceful or threatening methods of the terrorist organization or incentivize others to resort to such methods.” Announcing its verdict on 18 July 2019, the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced Mavioğlu and Demirel to 4 years and 6 months in prison. After Mavioğlu and Demirel’s lawyers appealed the verdict, the 4th Penal Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Appeals overturned their conviction. The appeals court reasoned that the legal connection between the case file and the case file in which Mavioğlu was convicted of the same charge and which stands before the Court of Cassation should be evaluated. The appeals court also ruled that the sentence handed down by the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court was too harsh and that the local court did not consider the factors which would call for a reduction in their sentences. At the second hearing of the trial held on 22 September 2022, the court decided to wait for the finalization of the appellate review of Mavioğlu’s case file before the Court of Cassation.
- The second hearing of the trial in which expelled sociologist and columnist Veli Saçılık faces “degrading the Turkish Nation, state of Turkish Republic, the organs and institutions of the state” will be held in the Ankara 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.30. The indictment, which was prepared by the Bingöl Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and was filed on 17 November 2021, presents a tweet Saçılık had shared on his personal account on 6 March 2021. In the cited tweet, Saçılık criticized the hate speech targeting Armenian people on a banner put up in Ankara and inscribed with a quote supposedly by former general Eşref Bitlis who is portrayed together with a special forces police. The tweet cited in the indictment are among three tweets which were detected by the police who conducted an “open source intelligence investigation” after being ordered by the Bingöl Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on 19 March 2021. After the report by the police, the Bingöl Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office requested permission from the Ministry of Justice to initiate a criminal investigation against Saçılık. The ministry granted permission for an investigation to be initiated only for the March 6th tweet. The Bingöl Criminal Court of First Instance which accepted the indictment ruled for lack of jurisdiction on the grounds that Saçılık resides in Ankara and sent the case file to Ankara. At the first hearing of the trial held on 15 November 2022, the court decided to issue writs to the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and the Ankara General Directorate of Security to determine if the banner was taken down following Saçılık’s tweet.
- The third hearing of the trial in which BirGün daily’s managing editor Mustafa Kömüş faces “insulting a public official because of his duties” charge upon complaint by Berat Albayrak, former minister of Treasury and Finance and President Erdoğan’s son-in-law, will be held in the Istanbul Anadolu 1st Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.30. In the indictment which was filed on 15 September 2021, the prosecutor presents a news article titled “AKP’ye lüks, halka sefalet [Luxury for the AKP, poverty for the people]” published in BirGün daily’s website on 30 March 2021 as evidence against the journalist. Citing some expressions in the news article, the prosecutor claims that Kömüş insulted Albayrak because of his duties and requests the journalist to be sentenced. At the second hearing of the trial held on 18 November 2022, the prosecution presented their final opinion as to the accusations and requested Kömüş to be sentenced for “insulting a public official because of his duties.”
- The first hearing of the trial in which Gerçek Gündem daily’s editor Furkan Karabay faces “insult” and “libel” charges upon complaint by President Erdoğan’s lawyers Ahmet Özel and Mustafa Doğan İnal will be held in the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 13.50. As evidence for the charges, the prosecutor presents a news article titled “Yargıda ‘Antalya’ operasyonunda ‘İstanbul’ ayrıntısı: Atanan savcılar neyin göstergesi? [The ‘Istanbul’ detail in the ‘Antalya’ operation to the judiciary: What do the appointed prosecutors indicate?]” published in Gerçek Gündem on 22 June 2022. In the cited news article, the appointment of several prosecutors from Istanbul to Antalya via the June 19th decree of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors and the gossip around the appointments were shared with the public. In separate criminal complaints filed with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Erdoğan’s lawyers claimed that the allegations in the news article were “figments of imagination” and that the article was written “to assassinate their characters.” Citing Karabay’s statement in which he told the prosecutor that he wrote the article, the prosecutor argues that it has been established that Karabay openly insulted and slandered the complainants. Emphasizing that the identity of the person who wrote the article is known, the prosecutor also states that he decided not to prosecute Faruk Eren, the managing editor of Gerçek Gündem. In a separate lawsuit brought against Eren and Karabay on the grounds of the same article, the journalists were sentenced to 2 years and 3 months for “insulting a public official” on 13 October 2022. The trial of Eren and Karabay lasted 9 days.
March 29th, Wednesday
- The fifth hearing of the trial in which columnist and expelled sociologist Veli Saçılık faces “insulting a public official” charges (on two accounts) upon complaint by the Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahçeli will be held in the Ankara 30th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.10. The indictment filed on 14 April 2022 presents a tweet in which Saçılık quoted a news article about Süleyman Soylu and shared on his personal account on 12 January 2020 and a social media post about Devlet Bahçeli which prosecutor Mehmet Aykut Cihangir claims that Saçılık had shared on his personal account on 15 January 2020 as evidence against Saçılık. The prosecutor claims that the statement Saçılık had given at the prosecutor’s office was intended “to get away with the crime committed” and that via the social media posts “offended the honor and dignity” of Süleyman Soylu and Devlet Bahçeli. On 8 June 2022, at the first hearing of the trial, the court accepted the intervention request of Süleyman Soylu on the grounds that “he may have been harmed by the offense committed.” At the second hearing of the trial held on 8 November 2022, the court accepted the intervention request of Devlet Bahçeli on the grounds that “he may have been harmed by the offense committed.” At the third hearing of the trial held on 22 December 2022, the prosecutor presented his final opinion as to the accusation and requested Saçılık to be sentenced for both accounts. The prosecutor who prepared the indictment against Saçılık is the same prosecutor who indicted Öztürk Türkdoğan, the Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) for “insulting a public official” upon complaint by Süleyman Soylu. The Ankara 60th Criminal Court of First Instance had eventually acquitted Türkdoğan on the grounds that “his actions cited as evidence for the charges are not defined as a crime in the law.” It was also revealed that via copy/paste indictments, the prosecutor brought separate lawsuits against İHD Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan and former members of the central executive committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party among whom are also Veli Saçılık for “openly degrading the state of the Turkish Republic.”
- The ninth hearing of the trial in which journalist Hayko Bağdat whom MLSA represents in court, faces “insulting the president” and “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility” charges will be held in the Istanbul 50th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.50. Bağdat’s trial began when İstanbul 50th Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment dated July 24, 2019 by the Prosecutor’s Office. The first indictment presents Bağdat’s article titled “My last article on Erdoğan” published at ozguruz.org on April 14, 2017 and four tweets as evidence against the journalist. Two other indictments against Bağdat were prepared later on June 15 and June 25, 2020. The cases opened after these indictments were accepted by the court and were later merged with the ongoing case at Istanbul 50th Criminal Court of First Instance. The June 25th indictment has added “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility” to the charges journalist Bağdat faces.
- The fourth hearing of the trial in which a member of the Boğaziçi University LGBTİ+ Studies Club and a social media user face “openly degrading symbols of state sovereignty” charge will be held in the Istanbul 18th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.20. In the indictment, prosecutor Enes Kocakale presents an e-mail the club had sent to its members in 2019 as evidence for the charges. The prosecutor claims that the email came to his attention after it was reported to several police departments and prosecutor’s offices by many people. Arguing that some verses of the national anthem was changed by using terms belonging to “Lubunca”- the jargon used by the LGBTİ+ community in Turkey-, the prosecutor requested two people to be sentenced for “openly insulting the national anthem.” Prosecutor Kocakale had also indicted seven students of Boğaziçi University students with “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” for having displayed the Kaaba together with a basilisk figure and LGBTI+ flags which he claimed represent things forbidden by Islam. At the third hearing of the trial of the Boğaziçi University LGBTİ+ Studies Club member and the social media user held on 23 November 2022, the court decided to wait for the response to the writ issued to Boğaziçi University.
March 30th, Thursday
- The 18th hearing of the trial in which journalist Can Dündar faces “publishing or distributing the publications of terrorist organizations” charges will be held in the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court, at 09.25. Dündar stands trial for showing solidarity with the shuttered Özgür Gündem daily as an Editor-in-Chief on Watch. The indictment cites a news article published in the newspaper on the day when Dündar was the Editor-in-Chief on Watch as evidence against the journalist. The prosecution requests imprisonment for Dündar for up to three years. An arrest warrant was issued for Dündar on December 22, 2016.
- The first hearing of the trial in which 10 people who were taken into custody on 4 September 2022 when police dispersed the September 2nd Festival held in May 1st neighborhood, face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” charges will be held in the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court, at 09.30. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents the statement of a complainant police officer, the report of the footage shot by the police, the slogans allegedly shouted by the defendants and the flags allegedly carried by the defendants as evidence for the charges. In addition to the charges of 2911 and propaganda, the prosecutor charged two people with “prevention of public duty” and three people with “destruction of public property.” Accepting the indictment, the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court imposed international travel bans on 10 people. The prosecutor who indicted the 10 people had also prepared the indictment against eight LGBTIQ+ Assemblies activists who attended the 2021 Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride March. The eight activists were subsequently acquitted of the charges. The same prosecutor has also indicted 70 students who attended the 9th Boğaziçi University Pride March. The prosecutor filed the lawsuit against 70 students six months after the march.
- The 21st hearing of the trial in which journalist Can Dündar and since shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper’s former Editor-in-Chief İnan Kızılkaya face “insulting a public official” charge will be held in the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10:15. The indictment against Dündar and Kızılkaya was prepared by prosecutor Murat İnam upon the complaint of the former judge of the İstanbul 1st Judgeship of Peace Bekir Altun. The indictment presents the news report titled “The most useful judge of the palace regime” which was published in Özgür Gündem on June 22, 2016 and when Dündar appeared as the Editor-in-Chief of Özgür Gündem in solidarity with the newspaper. The prosecutor claims that complainant Altun was insulted by remarks such as “the judge who cleared the AKP government in the December 17-25 Corruption Investigation” and “the judge who signed for the blocking of Twitter and YouTube.” Pointing out the Kızılkaya’s statements given at the prosecutor’s office in which Kızılkaya denied the allegations and the fact that Dündar did not provide his statement during the investigation, the prosecutor claims that “it has been understood that they committed the offense they have been charged with” and requests imprisonment for Dündar and Kızılkaya.
- The fifth hearing of the trial in which four activists, including Etkin News Agency (ETHA) reporter Elif Bayburt face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Istanbul Anadolu 33th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.20. The indictment, which was filed on 30 September 2021, presents the protest the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) activists attempted to hold in Kadıköy on 22 September 2021 in support of the student movement called #Barınamıyoruz [We cannot find shelter]. The prosecutor also presents the banner the activists were carrying which reads “Housing is a right, we will take it” as evidence for the charges. On 29 September 2022, journalist Bayburt was taken into custody in connection with this case so that her statement can be taken. Bayburt was released after being held in police custody for one day.
- The 10th hearing of the trial in which journalists Ersin Çaksu and Aziz Oruç whom MLSA represents in court, face “degrading the Turkish nation, the state of Turkish Republic, the government, the judicial bodies of the State, the military and security organizations” charge will be held in the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, at 11.15. Journalists Oruç and Çaksu were tried alongside Selman Keleş, Özgür Paksoy, Kenan Kırkaya and İshak Yasul in this case. The other four defendants were each sentenced to five months in prison for “degrading the Turkish nation” and their sentences were suspended. However, Oruç and Çaksu’s files were separated because their statements could not be taken at the time. Journalist Aziz Oruç has been in pre-trial detention since June 16 2022 along with his 15 colleagues because of a separate criminal investigation led by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
- The fourth hearing of the trial in which journalist Sibel Hürtaş faces “prevention of public duty” charge will be held in the Ankara 37th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 14.10. Journalist Hürtaş was prevented by the police from following the protest of many bar association chairs in the garden of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to protest the multiple bar association law. After insisting on following the protest as a journalist, Hürtaş was taken into custody by the police. Hürtaş claimed that she was tortured and ill-treated as she was strangled in the detention vehicle, and subsequently received a report of incapacity to work for two days. The prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute the policemen who physically assaulted Hürtaş. At the second hearing of the trial held on April 12 2022, the court decided to subpoena two complainant police officers who failed to attend previous hearings and to inquire why the court’s previous writs were not responded to. The court also decided to file a criminal complaint according to the response given to its inquiry. At the third hearing of the trial held on 27 October 2022, the court decided to have one of the complainant police officers who failed to attend hearings despite being summoned, to be brought before the court at the next hearing. The court also decided to have the witnesses of the complainant police officers to be brought before the court at the next hearing.
March 31st, Friday
- The third hearing of the Tent Trial in which 71 students of Boğaziçi University face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Istanbul 27th Criminal Court of First Instance, at 10.00. In the indictment, the prosecutor presents the footage of the protests and the slogans chanted for the charges leveled against the 45 students who were taken into custody when police intervened with the protests on 22 October 2021 during which the students wanted to set up a tent in the campus. On April 22 2022, at the first hearing of the trial, the court decided to send the footage to an expert so that it can be examined. Before the second hearing of the trial scheduled for 22 October 2022, the court decided to merge the lawsuit brought against 26 students who were identified in the footage of the protests with the Tent Trial.
- The third hearing of the trial in which 8 people, including the Health and Social Service Laborers’ Union (SES) Van Branch Co-Chairs Zeki Seven and Figen Çolakoğlu and the former chair of Van-Hakkari Practitioners’ Chamber Hüseyin Yaviç face “defying the Law no. 2911 on Demonstrations and Assemblies” charge will be held in the Van 1st Criminal Court of First Instance, at 13.05. In the indictment which was filed on 31 March 2022, the prosecutor presents a press statement attempted to be held on 8 February 2022 as part of a nationwide protest for the improvement of the working conditions of healthcare professionals. Arguing that the press statement was illegal, the prosecutor cites the ban decision of the Van Governor’s Office and the negative decision of the Governor’s Office on 7 February 2022 following the notification of the organizers. At the first hearing of the trial held on 2 December 2022, the court decided to wait for the statements of all defendants to be taken. At the second hearing of the trial held on 17 February 2023, the court accepted the requests of some defendants and decided to exempt them from attending future hearings.
