The new Turkey
Ayşegül Doğan
Former program coordinator for the shuttered television station İMC TV

21-Feb-2020

25 December 2019:

Ayşegül Doğan’s trial adjourned until March

The trial of journalist Ayşegül Doğan, a former program coordinator for the shuttered television station İMC TV, who is also charged with “establishing or leading an armed organization,” also resumed on 25 December 2019 at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.

This was the fourth in the case, where Doğan’s interviews as a journalist with DTK administrators are held as evidence against her. Doğan faces up to 22.5 years in prison if convicted. 

P24 monitored the hearing, where Doğan and her lawyers were in attendance. The presiding judge informed those in attendance that the court has received a forensic examination report concerning the audio tapes allegedly including Doğan’s voice, recorded inside the DTK headquarters.

Addressing the court concerning the audio tapes held as evidence against Doğan in the case file, the journalist’s lawyers said the tapes were obtained illegally and that therefore should not be taken into consideration by the court.

Issuing an interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to inquire of the Directorate of Press and Information under the Presidency about whether Ayşegül Doğan is a member of the press and whether she holds a press card and its expiry date. The court also ruled to send the case file to the prosecution for the drafting of their final opinion and adjourned the trial until 18 March 2020.

12 September 2019:

Journalists Face 22.5 Years in Prison, Their Hearings Last Five Minutes
Facing up to 22.5 years in prison on charge of “establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization”, journalists Ayşegül Doğan and Yusuf Karataş’s hearings have been adjourned to December 25 in five-minute hearings.
Ayşegül Doğan, the Program Coordinator of the closed İMC TV, and Yusuf Karataş, a columnist for the daily Evrensel, had their hearings at the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court yesterday (September 11).

The journalists are charged with "establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization" on the ground of discussion panels, conferences and interviews that they attended as part of their journalistic activities. Both Doğan and Karataş face up to 22 years, 6 months in prison. After five-minute hearings yesterday, the board of the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court has adjourned the next hearings to December 25.

While Ayşegül Doğan did not attend her third hearing, her lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar indicated that the voice records allegedly captured in the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) building were not legally obtained.

Upon the request of her lawyer, the court has ruled that a writ shall be written to Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to acquire information on the exact date when the journalist was added as a suspect to the investigation file on the DTK. The court has also ruled that Ayşegül Doğan shall apply to the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institute for a comparative analysis of the voice records presented as evidence to the court.

3 April 2019:

Journalist Ayşegül Doğan’s trial adjourned until September
 
The trial of journalist Ayşegül Doğan, a former program coordinator for the shuttered television station İMC TV, who is also charged with “establishing or leading an armed organization,” also resumed on 3 April at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.
 
This was the second hearing in the case, where Doğan’s interviews as a journalist with DTK administrators are held as evidence against her. The court adjourned the trial until 11 September, awaiting a comparative forensic examination of audio recordings in the case file and a sample of Doğan’s voice.