The new Turkey
 Cihan Acar.
Photojournalist with the defunct daily newspaper Bugün

15-Sep-2019 12:35

12 September 2019:*

Lawyer Veysel Ok and Journalist Cihan Acar Sentenced to 5 Months in Prison
Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) Co-Director lawyer Veysel Ok and reporter Cihan Acar have been each sentenced to 5 months in prison on charge of "degrading the judicial bodies of the state" as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Following a verdict of non-jurisdiction, the trial that previously lasted around two years started again. In his third hearing today (September 12), Ok appeared before the judge at the İstanbul 2nd Penal Court of First Instance. While Cihan did not attend it, his lawyer was present at court.

'I used my right to criticize as a lawyer'

In his statement of defense presented to the court, lawyer Ok said, "The interview done in the article in question is intended for purposes of criticizing the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. It is something expressed not only by me, but also by several professors specialized in the field.

"I used my right to criticize as a lawyer. I still hold the same opinion that the Judgeships of Peace, both in terms of their establishment and structure, are in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECtHR) and international norms."

5-month prison sentence for each

After the lawyers of the defendants presented their statements of defense, the court announced its judgement on Ok and Acar. The court ruled that they should be sentenced to six months in prison on charge of "publicly degrading the judicial bodies of the state" as per the Article 301/1 of the TCK.

Taking the behavior of the defendants during the judicial process into consideration, the court has reduced the prison terms of both Ok and Acar by one sixth, thereby sentencing them to five months in prison. The announcement of both verdicts has been suspended.

22 November 2018:
Case against Acar, Ok transferred to different court for lack of jurisdiction
 
The trial where Cihan Acar, a former reporter for the shuttered daily Özgür Düşünce, and lawyer Veysel Ok are charged with “publicly degrading the judiciary” resumed on 22 November. At the end of the hearing, the 37th Criminal Court of First Instance declared it had no jurisdiction over the case and ruled that the file be transferred to the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul, which has jurisdiction over “offenses committed through the press.”

24 October 2018:

1 April 2017:

Journalists rearrested after courts order release
Police on April 1 immediately arrested journalists jailed in Istanbul and the Mediterranean city of Antalya in the wake of the failed July 2016 military coup as they were released from prison, according to the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet. Prosecutors had asked Istanbul's 25th Court for Serious Crimes to release journalists Ahmet Memiş, Bayram Kaya, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Cuma Ulus, Habib Güler, Halil İbrahim Balta, Hanım Büşra Erdal, and Muhammed Said Kuloğlu pending the conclusion of their trial, according to media reports. The court agreed, but prosecutors then appealed that order to the 26th Court for Serious Crimes, which quickly reversed the lower court's order for their release, and Istanbul counterterrorism police arrested them as soon as they were formally released from Istanbul's Silivri Prison, according to the press freedom advocacy group Ben Gazeteciyim ("I am a journalist").

Police in Istanbul also immediately rearrested journalists Yakup Çetin, Bünyamin Köseli, Oğuz Usluer, Ali Akkuş, Atilla Taş, Cihan Acar, Abdullah Kılıç, Hüseyin Aydın, Murat Aksoy, Mustafa Erkan Acar, Seyid Kılıç, and Yetkin Yıldız after their release on April 1, but on new charges of "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" and "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or preventing it from doing its duty." Their trial on terrorism charges will continue, and they are currently detained for seven days of questioning on the new charges.

31 July 2016:
Judges indict at least 23 journalists on terrorism charges
Judges indicted at least 23 journalists on charges of "being a member of a [terrorist] organization" over the weekend, according to press reports:
............... Cihan Acar, a photojournalist with the defunct daily newspaper Bugün.......................