This week will also see hearings in cases related to journalism and freedom of expression. Here is the week's trial schedule:
October 2, Monday
Journalist Ramazan Ölçen, the License Holder of the Azadiya Welat newspaper, which was shut down by decree, will be tried on charges of "being a member of an organization" at the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court at 10:50 AM.
October 3, Tuesday
Documentary director Sibel Tekin will be tried on charges of "organization membership" at the Ankara 26th High Criminal Court at 10:45 AM. Tekin was reported and arrested while filming her documentary ‘Life Beginning in the Dark,’ because she captured a police vehicle and a checkpoint during her shoot.
October 4, Wednesday
Journalists Eylem Sonbahar and Sema Karakurt, along with Metin Cihan and 14 others, will be tried on charges of "resisting to prevent duty" at the Antalya 25th Criminal Court at 9:00 AM. The journalists were arrested on November 15 while covering the G20 Summit protests in Antalya in 2015.
Journalist Ayşegül Doğan, who was elected as a Şirnak MP from the Green Left Party in the general elections held on May 14, will be tried on charges of "being an organization member" at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court at 9:45 AM. Doğan is accused of participating in activities of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) while she was the program coordinator and host of a show on İMC TV, which was shut down by decree in 2016.
Seventeen youths will continue to be tried at the Adana 17th Criminal Court at 10:30 AM for resisting police violence during the commemoration of the Suruç Massacre. They are charged with "opposing the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations" and "resisting to prevent duty."
The case known as the "KCK Academy Case" will be heard at the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court at 9:30 AM. This includes writers and journalists among the defendants. Twenty-one people were arrested during house raids on July 28, 2017, as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
Merdan Yanardağ, the Editor-in-Chief of TELE 1, will appear before the Istanbul 30th High Criminal Court at 11:30 AM for the first time. Yanardağ is charged with "making terrorist organization propaganda" and "praising the crime and the criminal," with a prison sentence sought ranging from 1 year and 6 months to 10 years and 6 months.
October 5, Thursday
Journalist Yağmur Kaya will be tried on charges of "targeting persons involved in anti-terror operations" at the Aydın 2nd High Criminal Court at 9:30 AM. The charges were brought following an interview with Eren Keskin, Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD), which was published on August 20, 2020, in Artı Gerçek.
Dilan Babat of JinNews and Fırat Can Arslan of Mezopotamya Agency will be tried on similar charges at the Konya 2nd High Criminal Court. The prosecutor called for a sentence in the first hearing.
