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A series of high-profile court hearings related to freedom of expression, assembly and press freedom are set to take place across Turkey during the final week of the judicial calendar. Among the most notable cases are those targeting journalists on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and proceedings against individuals who attended a memorial for a deadly mining disaster.
July 16, Wednesday
At 10 a.m., the third hearing in the case against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu will be held at Istanbul’s 14th High Criminal Court. İmamoğlu faces charges of “threat,” “insulting a public official,” and “targeting persons involved in counterterrorism” over comments he made during a panel discussion titled Modern Law and the Politicization of the Judiciary, in which he criticized the detention of opposition youth leader Cem Aydın and made remarks directed at Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
At 12:30 p.m., the trial of 26 people accused of violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations (Law No. 2911) for participating in a memorial event for the Amasra mining disaster will be held at Ankara’s 65th Criminal Court of First Instance. The Amasra mine explosion in October 2022 killed 41 miners in Bartın province along Turkey’s Black Sea coast, prompting public outcry and memorials across the country.
July 17, Thursday
At 9 a.m., the 11th hearing in the case against journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş and four others will take place at Istanbul’s 72nd Criminal Court of First Instance. Keleş was detained while covering a labor protest and is charged with “insulting a public official” and “resisting to prevent the performance of duty.” She is being represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
At 10:15 a.m., 23 people who were detained in front of a courthouse while attending the trial of Ethem Sarısülük — a protester shot dead by police during the 2013 Gezi Park protests — will face trial at Ankara’s 57th Criminal Court of First Instance. They are accused of “resisting the police” and “violating Law No. 2911.”
At 11:25 a.m., the 34th hearing of the so-called “KCK Press Trial” will be held at Istanbul’s 3rd High Criminal Court. The case involves 46 Kurdish journalists and media workers formerly affiliated with now-shuttered outlets including Özgür Gündem, Azadiya Welat, Dicle News Agency and Fırat Distribution. The defendants are charged with membership in the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), a group the Turkish government considers to be affiliated with the outlawed PKK.
At 11:30 a.m., the second hearing in the trial of journalist Rahime Karvar will take place at Istanbul’s 24th High Criminal Court. Karvar was detained alongside five other journalists on Jan. 20 as part of an Istanbul-based investigation. She faces charges of “membership in a terrorist organization,” though she was released after the first hearing on June 12.
July 18, Friday
On Feb. 13, 2024, several journalists, including Gazete Duvar reporter Cihan Başakçıoğlu, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Semra Turan and Tolga Güney, JINNEWS journalist Melike Aydın, journalist Delal Akyüz, and DEM Party media worker Fatma Funda Akbulut, were detained and later placed under house arrest. Trials for three of them will be held this week.
At 9:40 a.m., journalist Melike Aydın will appear at Izmir’s 13th High Criminal Court. She faces charges based on her news reporting and phone communications with her sources.
At 10 a.m., the court will hear the case against journalist Tolga Güney at the same court, also concerning the content of his news reporting and source communications.
At 10:20 a.m., journalist Delal Akyüz will also face trial at the Izmir 13th High Criminal Court, with MLSA providing legal representation. Akyüz is accused due to his reporting and phone calls with sources.
These trials come amid ongoing concerns from international human rights organizations over Turkey's record on press freedom and judicial independence. The country has been frequently criticized by groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Council of Europe for prosecuting journalists and political dissenters under broad anti-terror laws.
