A new report by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reveals a sharp increase in press freedom-related trials and detentions in Turkey over the past year, highlighting what rights advocates say is a growing trend of criminalizing journalism, activism, and public dissent.
The 2024–2025 judicial year report documents the monitoring of 275 court cases and 430 hearings from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025. According to MLSA, more than half of the 1,686 people tried in these cases were activists, followed by journalists, students, lawyers, politicians, and artists. The report asserts that the right to protest has once again been directly criminalized, and journalists covering demonstrations have also been prosecuted.
The report was launched at an event held at The Marmara Pera Hotel in Istanbul, attended by journalists, civil society representatives, diplomats from the U.S., the Netherlands, Czechia, Switzerland, and Sweden, as well as representatives from Amnesty International, the Human Rights Association (İHD), the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), and the Istanbul Bar Association.
MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok, who opened the event, recalled that this was the eighth annual report published by the organization since 2017. “We’ve tried to monitor nearly all journalist trials in Turkey since then. We’ve seen how journalism prosecutions have changed under the presidential system,” he said. Ok also paid tribute to Tahir Elçi, the former head of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, on the anniversary of his death.
FNF representative Aret Demirci noted that the report has become an important reference point both in Turkey and internationally, emphasizing the significance of MLSA's commitment to monitoring all trials from a rule-of-law perspective, regardless of political views.
Activists and journalists increasingly targeted
The report reveals that half of the monitored cases were heard in Istanbul, with a significant portion in Ankara and Diyarbakır — a city in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast, known for its politically charged trials. Other provinces such as İzmir, Tunceli, Batman, Mersin, Antalya, and Gaziantep were also included but to a lesser extent.
Nearly half the trials were held in High Criminal Courts, with the rest mostly taking place in criminal courts of first instance. The most common charges were “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorist propaganda,” which together made up almost half of all cases. Many of these were filed under Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, often targeting peaceful protesters, students, civil society representatives, and the journalists covering their events.
The report dedicates a significant section to the use of Turkey’s controversial "censorship law" — formally known as the disinformation law — against journalists. It cites the ongoing prosecution of journalist Tolga Şardan for reporting on an intelligence agency (MIT) document and MLSA client Can Öztürk, who was taken to court over a story titled “Sexual abuse allegations during conversion therapy.”
Anti-terror law widely used against media
One of the report’s most striking findings is that 52% of monitored trials were held under the Anti-Terror Law (TMK). Of the 102 terrorism-related cases observed, 56 targeted journalists. The most frequent accusations were armed group membership and terrorist propaganda. A smaller number were charged with “targeting individuals involved in anti-terror operations.”
The report highlights the arrests of seven journalists, including Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Rahime Karvar, Ahmet Güneş, and Vedat Örüç, during operations on January 17 and 24, 2025. Prosecutors cited social security records, phone calls, and news coverage as evidence. MLSA notes that these prosecutions continue despite rulings from Turkey’s Constitutional Court stating that “royalty payments cannot be used as evidence of crime” and “journalists cannot be held responsible for editorial policy.”
The report also includes charges brought against journalists and politicians for attending commemorations of Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, and a case filed against the Istanbul Bar Association’s board for a statement about two journalists killed in Syria.
Another major concern raised involves the HDK investigation, in which journalists Elif Akgül, Yıldız Tar, Nurcan Kaya, Ercüment Akdeniz, and Erdal İmrek were detained for phone calls made between 2012 and 2014 as part of their reporting. Akgül, Tar, Akdeniz, and İmrek were arrested; Kaya was placed under house arrest.
Dramatic increase in pre-trial detentions
One of the report’s most alarming findings is the 560% year-over-year increase in the number of people held in pre-trial detention. This year, 66 individuals were detained pending trial, up from just 10 last year. Most detentions were linked to TMK charges or “insulting the president,” but there was also a notable rise in arrests under Law No. 2911 on demonstrations — a new trend, according to MLSA.
Panel discussion: Courage, the Constitution, and criminalizing documentation
Following the presentation, a panel moderated by MLSA Co-Director Barış Altıntaş featured journalists Diren Yurtsever and Ercüment Akdeniz and documentary filmmaker Koray Kesik.
Yurtsever argued that courage is the core value of journalism and said he is on trial for covering the Kobani trial — even though many journalists followed the same hearings. He described the judicial process as unfair and warned against normalizing High Criminal Court trials under the TMK.
Akdeniz criticized the indictment against him in the HDK case as “absurd,” noting that the leftist EMEP party was labeled a “terrorist organization” merely because the word “organization” appears in its bylaws. He added that a live television interview he conducted years ago was presented as evidence. Akdeniz said he spent eight months in prison and that his ability to work as a journalist was deliberately obstructed. He called the detention of journalists advocating for peace a “litmus test” for Turkey’s attitude toward peace itself.
Documentary filmmaker Koray Kesik said that since the mid-2000s, documentarians have faced repression similar to journalists. He recounted how his films were banned in 2015, his film director was prosecuted, and eventually, his own home was raided. Even while trying to document the aftermath of the 2023 earthquakes, he said he faced restrictions. Kesik added that he cannot obtain a press card and that the killing of environmental journalist Hakan Tosun should not be considered a mere “incident.”
The report concludes with a warning that the repression of journalists and activists continues to intensify in Turkey, and that legal norms and constitutional protections are being increasingly undermined.
