The new Turkey
Nurcan Gökdemir.
Birgün daily correspondant

19-Apr-2019 10:27

27 March 2019:

New charge under TCK 301 sought in Sibel Hürtaş and Hayri Demir’s trial
 
The fourth hearing in a trial where 11 defendants, including journalists Hayri Demir and Sibel Hürtaş, stand accused for their social media posts, was held on 27 March in Ankara. The defendants in the case are accused of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group” and “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” over their social media posts critical of Turkey’s military operation on the Syrian city of Afrin.
 
Hürtaş, Demir, their co-defendant Bengü Aslı Bayramoğlu and defense lawyers were in attendance for the hearing at the 15th High Criminal Court of Ankara.  
The prosecution submitted their final opinion of the case during the hearing, seeking convictions for Bengü Aslı Bayramoğlu, Hüseyin Gökdemir, Osman Konukçu, Lezgin Tekay, Muhammed Barış Ceyhan and Saim Serin of the “propaganda” charge.
 
The prosecution also sought conviction for Demir on the same charge, however, the accusation was based on a social mediapost by Demir that was not included in the indictment.
 
The prosecution did not submit their final opinion concerning the remaining four defendants in the case, however, they asked the court to seek the Justice Ministry’s approval for new charges to be pressed on all defendants in the case under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) -- “publicly denigrating the Turkish nation, the state of the Turkish Republic, or the institutions and organs of the state.”
 
Addressing the court during the hearing, Demir requested additional time for his defense statement. He also said the social media post for which he is accused was actually a news item that was based on official documents.
 
DEfense lawyers also requested continuance for defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion. The lawyers also reacted to the prosecution’s request to press new charges under Article 301, saying any legal process to be carried out in connection with this charge would be unlawful.
 
In its interim decision, the court agreed to seek the Justice Ministry’s approval to press new charges under TCK 301 against the defendants and adjourned the trial until 3 July 2019. In the event the ministry gives the go-ahead, the court will return the case file to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

6 November 2018:

Turkish journalist facing trial over report mentioning Erdoğan’s relatives in ruling AKP

A Turkish journalist is facing trial over an article covering the appointment of relatives of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) administrative positions, independent news site Diken reported.

Birgün daily correspondant Nurcan Gökdemir is accused of ''defaming'' Erdoğan has been summoned to court for her news piece covering appointments to Turkey’s Ministry of Finance.

The article published in August  mentioned a relative of Erdoğan by the name of Ahmet Minder, whose daughters were reported to have married ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) administrators, as well as Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.

Insulting the president is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison in Turkey, and lawyers of the Turkish president have filed more than 1,800 cases against people on such accusations.