The Ankara 10th Criminal Court of First Instance has rejected an appeal filed by the MLSA Legal Unit against the detention of journalist Tuğba Tekerek, who was jailed without any technical surveillance data or concrete evidence and on the basis of what the appeal described as abstract assumptions.
ISTANBUL — An Ankara court has rejected an appeal by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Legal Unit against the detention of journalist Tuğba Tekerek, upholding a Sept. 15 detention order issued by the Ankara 6th Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
In its Sept. 21 petition, the MLSA Legal Unit said Tekerek, who has worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years, was not a member, volunteer or employee of KAOS GL, a Turkish LGBTQ+ rights organization, nor had she served on its executive or supervisory boards. The petition also said Tekerek did not manage the association’s website or social media accounts.
According to the petition, Tekerek’s “only connection” to the publication at the center of the investigation was a news report she produced while covering elections in Georgia in 2024 and submitted for publication on KAOS GL’s website.
The petition also said Tekerek had no role in preparing or publishing the news report’s presentation on social media, including its headline, image or the manner in which it was shared.
The Ankara 10th Criminal Court of First Instance, which reviewed the appeal, said it found the Ankara 6th Criminal Judgeship of Peace’s Sept. 15 detention order appropriate.
No concrete evidence cited to justify detention
The MLSA Legal Unit stressed that there was no concrete evidence linking Tekerek to the allegations. The petition said prosecutors had relied on an unsubstantiated assertion in their request for her detention that Tekerek was an “authorized user of the Instagram account according to a cyber investigation,” without explaining what technical data supported that finding.
Tekerek was taken into custody Sept. 13 as part of simultaneous operations carried out in several provinces across Turkey and publicly referred to as the “My Family Is Safe” operation. She was detained pending trial on Sept. 15.
