Legal Unit

Ahead of the judicial recess that will be in place until September, hearings of journalists including MLSA clients continued in July. 

In the courtroom: Journalist Delal Akyüz, represented by MLSA was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison on charges of “membership in an organization,” while co-defendants Melike Aydın and Tolga Güney were acquitted due to lack of evidence.All of the journalists were detained in February of last year and they were placed under house arrest and charged with terrorism solely based on their journalistic work and articles. 

In another development, a court handed MLSA client journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş an 8-month, 10-day prison sentence for “resisting to prevent the performance of duty” while acquitting her of “insulting a public official,” in a trial stemming from her coverage of a workers’ protest in 2020. The court deferred the announcement of the verdict. Keleş had been detained while covering a protest on Sept. 17, 2020, outside Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University. 

Also in July, the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court ruled that journalist Ercüment Akdeniz will remain in detention in his trial on “membership in an organization.” Akdeniz is not directly represented by MLSA but our Legal Unit has supported Akdeniz’s lawyers in their legal work. 

Other developments:An arrest warrant was issued for MLSA client journalist Nedim Türfent over four posts on social media. Türfent, who is currently abroad, was imprisoned for eight years on “terror group membership” charges for releasing a video showing torture of Kurdish locals at the hands of security forces. 

Legal objection:  MLSA formally objected  to an access block on news about the cancellation of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma. We criticized the legal basis for the block, arguing that Turkish authorities had shifted to citing “national security” concerns under Article 8/A of the Internet Law after the Constitutional Court annulled the previously used Article 9 on protecting personal rights.

In a related development, access was blocked to MLSA’s report on KRT employees halting broadcasts over unresolved issues, according to Free Web Turkey. MLSA has objected to the access ban. 

Trial Monitoring in July 

In July, MLSA monitored 20 free speech trials in which more than 30 people were prosecuted, including 14 journalists, three activists, one artist, one politician, and one writer.Throughout the month, four acquittals were issued. Journalists Eylem Keleş (on charges of insult), Melike Aydın, Tolga Güney, and politician Ekrem İmamoğlu (on charges of targeting) were acquitted.

Advocacy

🔶MLSA joined other press groups visiting Sözcü TV and Halk TV in solidarity against broadcast bans against the two stations over their critical reporting. After the solidarity visit, MLSA General Coordinator Batıkan Erkoç, speaking to the Anka News Agency, condemned the attempts at silencing critical voices.

🔶 MLSA led a statement titled “Journalists detained under the Artvin investigation must be released immediately”, signed by 19 press organizations. All six journalists in the investigation were quite unexpectedly released at the end of the month. 

🔶We released a statement on a recent investigation into LeMan satire magazine over alleged portrayal of Prophet Mohammed, saying both the investigation and attacks on the magazine were unlawful, urging free expression.

🔶Also in July, MLSA’s Legal Unit contributed an opinion on how expanding freedom of expression can support Turkey’s ongoing peace process, also referred to as the “second peace process.”

NGO capacity-building event

In early July, we carried out audit simulations at two civil society organizations as part of our capacity-building program for NGOs. The reviews were led by financial advisor Samet Güçlü and MLSA Finance Manager Gülhan Çorlu.

On 2July the team conducted an audit at the Turkish Psychologists Association.  A similar review took place on 3 July at the Association of Women Employers and Industrialists (KAİSDER). The audit concluded that the association’s financial records were largely in order, though some documents still needed to be completed.

MLSA in the press in July

In July, MLSA was cited in over 45 news reports across at least 25 different outlets, including major national platforms such as BBC Türkçe, DW Türkçe, T24, Diken, BirGün, Bianet, Agos, and Evrensel, as well as a wide range of regional and alternative media sources.

The Artvin-based investigation dominated coverage, with at least 10 separate stories amplifying MLSA’s joint call with 19 institutions for the release of detained journalists. 

MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok spoke to Der Spiegel about recent legal attacks on journalism in Turkey and the media crackdown following the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu.

MLSA General Coordinator Batıkan Erkoç talked to Anka News Agency about the Draconian fines issued on Sözcü TV and Halk TV. Watch here.