The new Turkey
Reyhan Hacıoğlu.
Zgürlükçü Demokrasi editor

The buildings of Pro-Kurdish Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and the printing press Gün Matbaa in Istanbul were raided by police on March 28, 2018. A government trustee was appointed on the same day only until it was shut down by a decree law (No.701) in June.

The newspaper’s publisher İhsan Yaşar was arrested on March 28, following the police raid on the daily’s offices ordered by the chief public prosecutor’s office. It was followed by the arrest of İshak Yasul, the managing editor of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper on March 30.

On April 4, 2018, seven more editors and reporters of the newspaper were taken into custody in relation to the same case. While three of them were released on bail, editors Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Hicran Urun and reporter Pınar Tarlak were put in pretrial detention.

Newspaper staff was brought to court in Çağlayan Courthouse, Istanbul on April 10, after seven days in detention.

Pınar Tarlak was released, pending trial after the hearing on September 12.

At least 20 printing press workers for Gün Matbaa were arrested on the same day of the raid along with the owner of printing press Gün Matbaa, Kazım Zengin. Workers remain in jail since March 28.

Accusations against the newspaper’s executives and journalists include “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization”, “membership of a terrorist organization” and “making terrorist propaganda”. The case file includes as criminal evidence news articles on Turkey’s military operation in Afrin and words used in those articles such as “resistance”, “occupation”, “massacre”, “martyr”, “Kurdistan”, “vicious attack”. Source

İstanbul - BIA News Desk22 May 2019, Wednesday 09:14

7 People Sentenced to Prison in Özgür Gündem Trial
While seven columnists and executives of the closed Özgür Gündem newspaper have been sentenced to prison, the court has ruled that the case files of seven defendants shall be separated and eight people shall be acquitted.

The final hearing of the case, where the columnists and executives of the closed Özgür Gündem newspaper were tried for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and "openly inciting to commit crime", was held at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court yesterday (May 21).

The court has ruled Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu shall be each sentenced to 1 year, 3 months; Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to 3 years, 9 months; Hüseyin Aykol to 2 years, 1 month; Hüseyin Güçlü and Tahir Temel to 1 year, 6 months in prison for "terror propaganda."

The prison sentences of Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Ayşe Batumlu have been deferred as per the Article 51/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The court has also ruled that the case files of Filiz Koçali, Enver Baysal, Hasan Başak, İhsan Yorulmaz, Muzaffer Ayata, Serbest Zan and Züleyha Yılmaz shall be separated on the ground that the warrants against them cannot be executed and their testimonies have not been taken.

As for the defendants Ayşe Berktay, Celalettin Can, Cemal Bozkurt, Çetin Ulu, Nuray Özdoğan, Emrullah Kurcan, Ergin Atabey and Özlem Söyler, they have been acquitted of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization." The charges brought against Bülent Alp have been dropped as the statute of limitations has been violated as per the Press Law.

Excuse of Hacıoğlu not accepted

Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan, two of the 23 defendants tried in the case, and Özcan Kılıç and Sercan Korkmaz, the attorneys of the defendants, attended the final hearing. The hearing was also followed by representatives from the Embassy of Ireland.

The petition of Reyhan Hacıoğlu, who stated that she could not attend the hearing due to her hunger strike, was rejected by the court board on the ground that it was the final hearing of the case.

Keskin: I don't believe I committed a crime

The prosecutor of the hearing indicated that he repeated his opinion as to the accusations that he presented in the hearing dated October 26, 2017.

Presenting her statement of defense as to the accusations, Eren Keskin stated the following: 

"I support freedom of thought and expression. I became the editor-in-chief because I supported the freedom of publishing. I do not believe that I committed a crime. I do not believe that thought is a crime, either. I request my acquittal."

Reyhan Çapan also indicated that she did not commit any crime and demanded her acquittal.

Prison sentence for 7 people

Announcing its judgement, the court has ruled that seven people shall be sentenced to prison and prison sentences of Hacıoğlu and Batumlu shall be deferred on the ground of "their verdicts of conviction that have not yet become definite and their attitude and behavior during the hearing."

As the warrants against seven defendants have not been executed, their files have been separated. The case of one defendant has dropped due to statute of limitations. The court has ruled for the acquittal of eight people.

Trials of Özgür Gündem Editors-in-Chief on Watch The Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign of Özgür Gündem daily had begun on May 3, 2016 and ended on August 7, 2016. Daily was closed through the Statutory Decree No. 675 issued under the State of Emergency. Investigations have been launched against 50 of the 56 Editors-in-Chief on Watch who have participated in the campaign. In 11 of these cases, the court has ordered not to prosecute and in 38 cases, a lawsuit has been brought. One case has been dismissed due to expiration of the Statute of Limitation in the investigation Relying on the Articles 7(2) and 6(2) of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713, the 38 Editors-in-Chief on Watch have stood trial on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and for "publishing and spreading statements of terrorist organizations. Cases in which court ruled no prosecution İhsan Eliaçık, Sebahat Tuncel, Ahmet Abakay, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Hasip Kaplan, Işın Eliçin, Kemal Can, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, Uğur Karadaş, Nurcan Baysal. Editors-in-Chief on Watch, against whom lawsuits were brought A. Kumru Başer, Ahmet Nesin, Ayşe Batumlu, Ayşe Düzkan, Beyza Üstün,Can Dündar, Celal Başlangıç, Celalettin Can, Cengiz Baysoy, Çilem Küçükkkeleş, Derya Okatan, Dicle Anter, Erol Önderoğlu, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Faruk Balıkçı, Faruk Eren, Fehim Işık, Hüseyin Tahmaz, Hakkı Boltan, Hasan Cemal, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, İbrahim Bodur, İhsan Çaralan,Julide Kural, Murat Çelikkan, Murat Uyurkulak, Nadire Mater, Necmiye Alpay, Nevin Erdemir, Öncü Akgül, Ragıp Duran, Said Sefa, Şanar Yurdatapan, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Veysi Altay, Yıldırım Türker. * Deniz Türkali's case was dismissed due to expiration of the Statute of Limitation in the investigation. * The cases of Özgür Gündem daily's former editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol, columnists Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş, who were on duty during the campaign, have been combined with the cases of Düzkan, Duran and Çelebi. The 38 Editors-in-Chief on Watch have stood trial / are standing on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and for "publishing and spreading statements of terrorist organizations under the Articles 7(2) and 6(2) of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713. Cases brought against 4 writers Lawsuits were filed against Ömer Ağın and Dilşah Kocakaya due to their articles published on Özgür Gündem daily, while Celal Başlangıç was the Editor-in-Chief on Watch; against İmam Canpolat due to an article published while Cengiz Baysoy was the Editor-in-Chief on Watch, and against İlham Bakır due to an article published while Jülide Kural was the Editor-in-Chief on Watch. Önderoğlu, Nesin, Korur-Fincancı in 10-days pre-trial detention * Editors-in-Chief on Watch, Erol Önderoğlu, Ahmet Nesin and Şebnem Korur Fincancı were arrested in June 2016 and released after 10 days. The next hearing of the three writers whose trials continue, will be held on December, 27, 2017. 68,000 TL (15,619 Euros) fine, 188 months and 15 days of prison sentence Verdict has been rendered in the trials of Şanar Yurdatapan, İbrahim Bodur, Cengiz Baysoy, İmam Canpolat, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Nadire Mater, Yıldırım Türker, Hasan Cemal, Faruk Balıkçı, Dicle Anter, Derya Okatan, Kumru Başer, Ayşe Batumlu, Jülide Kural, İlham Bakır, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Çelikkan, Beyza Üstün, Nevin Erdemir, Hakkı Boltan, Hasan Hayri Şanlı and Tuğrul Eryılmaz. 4 acquittals Şanlı, Erdemir, Tahmaz and Boltan have been acquitted. Prison sentences of Çelikkan (18 months), Canpolat (15 months) not deferred The court has ruled in 22 cases in total, that the editors-in-chief on watch be sentenced to 68,000 TL (15,619 Euros) fine and 235 months and 15 days in prison. All prison sentences except those of Canpolat and Çelikkan, have been deferred. Çelikkan entered Kırklareli Prison on August 14, 2017 and was transferred to open prison on October 14, 2017. He was released on October 21, 2017. Kızılkaya's cases Özgür Gündem Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya is defendant in all 38 cases. His case was separated from the others in the trials together with the other Editors-in-Chief on Watch. İstanbul 23rd Heavy Criminal Court is combining Kızılkaya's case with the main trial. Özgür Gündem main trial In the main trial, Özgür Gündem Consultant Board members Necmiye Alpay, Aslı Erdoğan, Ragıp Zarakolu, Filiz Koçali, Eren Keskin, Editors-in-Chief Zana Kaya, İnan Kızılkaya, Kemal Sancılı and Bilge Oykut are standing trial. Sancılı has still been arrested as part of the lawsuit.

The second hearing of the trial into 14 employees of the shuttered daily Özgürlükçü Demokrasi on terrorism-related charges took place on 6 December at the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. 

The pro-Kurdish newspaper’s Istanbul offices were raided by police and the newspaper was appointed a trustee in March before it was closed down in July through an emergency decree. Its publisher, İhsan Yaşar, and responsible managing editor, İshak Yasul, were jailed pending trial on 6 April on terrorism-related charges as part of the investigation. Editors Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Hicran Ürün, and bookkeeper and secretary Pınar Tarlak were jailed on 10 April. Tarlak was released at the end of the first hearing of the trial in September. 

The defendants are accused of “membership in a terrorist organization,” “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “printing or publishing terrorist group publications.” News stories featured in the newspaper constitute the grounds for the accusations in the indictment. The other suspects in the indictment are Davut Uçar, Ersin Çaksu, Fırat Benli, Günay Aksoy, Mizgin Fendik, Önder Elaldı, Ramazan Sola and Yılmaz Yıldız. 

P24 monitored the second hearing on 6 December, where the defendants made their defense statements. Rejecting the accusations, the jailed journalists requested to be released pending trial. 

In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ordered the continuation of the detention of all jailed defendants in the case. The court also kept the international travel ban imposed on the unjailed defendants in place and ruled to await the execution of the arrest warrants for six other defendants in the case. The next hearing in the trial is set for 21 February 2019. Source

The trial into the owner and employees of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, which was raided by police and appointed a trustee in March before it was closed down in July through an emergency decree, got under way on 12 September in Istanbul.

In its interim decision at the end of the hearing, the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul ordered that Pınar Tarlak, one of the six jailed defendants, be released, while ordering the continuation of the detention of the remaining five newspaper employees on trial and set 6 December 2018 as the date for the next hearing. 

The newspaper’s owner İhsan Yaşar and responsible managing editor İshak Yasul were jailed pending trial on 6 April on terrorism-related charges as part of the investigation into Özgürlükçü Demokrasi. The newspaper’s editors Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Hicran Urun, and bookkeeper and secretary Pınar Tarlak were jailed on 10 April.

They were indicted — alongside eight other Özgürlükçü Demokrasiemployees — for “membership in a terrorist organization,” “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “printing or publishing terrorist group publications.” News stories featured in the newspaper constitute the grounds for the accusations in the indictment. The other suspects in the indictment are Davut Uçar, Ersin Çaksu, Fırat Benli, Günay Aksoy, Mizgin Fendik, Önder Elaldı, Ramazan Sola and Yılmaz Yıldız.

Jailed defendants Yaşar, Yasul, Tarlak, Hacıoğlu, Urun, and Çelebi, as well as Sola, who is not in detention, and the defence lawyers were in attendance at the first hearing on 12 September, which was monitored by P24.

Yaşar addressed the court first. He said in his statement that he was not a member of any political party or any other institution. When the chief judge asked Yaşar a question concerning several headline stories published in the newspaper, Yaşar told the court that as a rule, he did not intervene in the titles of news stories.

Following Yaşar’s statement, Yasul addressed the court. He said he considered the allegation in the indictment that “the newspaper published news stories upon instruction” to be an insult. Adding that the allegations against him in the indictment did not constitute a crime, Yasul requested for his release.

Editor Urun then addressed the court. “I am a journalist who holds an International Press Card,” Urun said, adding that she was also currently studying for a postgraduate degree in women’s studies and therefore the news stories she covered were mainly in that field. “Despite my field of interest being women and children, I am being held responsible for news stories outside my line of work,” Urun said.

About the news stories the chief judge inquired of all the defendants present in the courtroom, Urun said: “The headlines of those stories include the personal statements of the subjects in those stories. They are not the opinions or statements of an editor or the editor in chief. What the newspaper did was merely reporting on those statements. The indictment is made in its entirety of news stories, which shows that what is being put on trial here is journalism.”

Urun added that the Kurdish songs in her mp3 player were used as evidence against her in the indictment. She said the allegations were unlawful and requested for her acquittal.

Urun’s statement was followed by Tarlak, who told the court that she was a secretary and bookkeeper for the newspaper, and that she was indicted merely because she was registered as an employee there. Tarlak added that the indictment referred to a separate ongoing criminal case against her before a different court, violating her right to presumption of innocence. Tarlak requested for her release.

Ramazan Sola, the only defendant at the hearing who was not in pretrial detention, said he was a driver for the newspaper and his responsibility was to distribute the newspaper, adding that he had no information as to the news stories and requesting for his acquittal.

Editor Çelebi gave his statement next. “A free press is the voice of democracy,” Çelebi said, adding that the newspaper observed the universal principles of journalism.

Hacıoğlu, another jailed editor, spoke next. Speaking about excerpts from interviews she conducted for the newspaper that are held as evidence against her in the indictment, Hacıoğlu said: “As a rule, it is the journalist’s decision to whether or not publish [those statements]. But a journalist is not entitled to amend or twist the statements given to her.”

Hacıoğlu requested her acquittal as she completed her statement. 

After the completion of statements by the defendants in attendance, defense lawyer Özcan Kılıç addressed the court. He said he had been a lawyer for Özgürlükçü Demokrasi ever since the newspaper was founded. He said that before its closure, the newspaper had not even once been pulled off newsstands because of its news coverage. “I have been a lawyer for newspapers for years. A newspaper must first receive a notice requesting a correction or clarification through a notary public. The newspaper did not receive such a notice for the headlines mentioned [in this court]. None of those news stories were denied.”

Adding that the “membership in a terrorist organization” charge in the indictment was a far-fetched allegation, Kılıç requested for the jailed defendants to be released and the lifting of the arrest warrants against those who were not present at the hearing.

Following the completion of all defense lawyers’ statements, the prosecutor requested the continuation of the detention of defendants on remand.

The court announced its interim decision after a brief recess, ruling for Pınar Tarlak’s release from pretrial detention and ordering the continuation of the detention of the newspaper’s editors and its owner. The court imposed an international travel ban on Tarlak. It also decided to await the execution of the arrest warrants against six other suspects in the case file and adjourned the trial until 6 December. Source

5 April 2018

20 of the 21 workers from Gün Printing House, which was raided by police on March 28, have been sent to court.

Eight of them were arrested, deposition proceeding of the 12 people is ongoing as of 2:55 p.m.

Mezopotamya Agency reported that 20 of those who were detained during the raid were taken taken to İstanbul Courthouse.

Holding an examination on the file, the prosecutor’s office sent all the workers to court for arrest.

Names of those who were sent to court for arrest are as follows:

Owner of Gün Printing House Kasım Zengin, printing house workers Erdoğan Zamur, Cemal Tunç, İhsan Sinmiş, İrfan Karaca, Kazım Göçer, Mehmet Emin Sümeli, Musa Kaya, Sadettin Demirtaş, Necati Hizarcı, Polat Arslan, Mahmut Abay, Cumali Öz, Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Mürsel Demir, Özgür Bozkurt, Kemal Daşdöğen, Süleyman Güneş, Muhammet Özkan, Uğur Selim Kelekçiler.

Cumali Öz, Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Özgür Bozkurt, Kemal Daşdeğen, Süleyman Güneş, Uğur Selman Kelekçiler, Muhammet Özkan and Mürsel Demir were arrested.

A person whose name couldn’t be found out was released following the deposition.

What happened?

Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and Gün Printing were raided by police on March 28 and it was reportedly transferred to the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) and a trustee was appointed.

25 people including Grant Holder of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper İhsan Yaşar and Owner of Gün Printing House Kasım Zengin were taken into custody during and after the raid.

The total number of detentions became 33

Names of those who were detained as of today (April 4) are as follows:

Grant Holder of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper İhsan Yaşar, Owner of Gün Printing House Kasım Zengin, Managing Editor İshak Yasul, newspaper staff Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Nedim Demirkıran, M. Ali Çelebi , Ramazan Sola Pınar Tarlak, Hicran Ürün, gazetenin eski çalışanı Mehmet Beyazıt, Gün Matbaası Sahibi Kasım Zengin, matbaa çalışanları Erdoğan Zamur, Musa Kaya, Cemal Tunç, Kemal Daşdöğen, İrfan Karaca, Mehmet Emin Sumeli, İhsan Sinmiş, Uğur Selman Kelekçiler, Kazım Göçer, Necati Hızarcı, Mahmut Abay, Mehmet Özkara, Cumali Öz, Mürsel Demir, Polat Arslan, Süleyman Güneş, Cenk Kale, Cengiz Kaya, İsmail Ergene, Semih Tamay, Özgür Bozkurt, Sadettin Demirtaş and Muhammet Özkan. (EA/TK) Source

11 April 2018

Detained during the operation launched against staff of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi to which a trustee was appointed, journalists Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Hicran Urun and Pınar Tarlak have been arrested.

Seven editors and workers who were taken into custody on April 4 as part of the investigation launched in the wake of a trustee being appointed to Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and Gün Printing House, were taken to İstanbul Courthouse yesterday (April 10).

According to Newspaper Karınca, the prosecutor didn’t take their statements. Newspaper’s editors Çelebi, Hacıoğlu and Urun, and the staff Tarlak and Sola were sent to 3rd Criminal Judgeship of Peace for arrest.

The prosecutor demanded that newspaper staff Nedir Demirkıran and former staff Mehmet Beyazit be released on probation.

While Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Hicran Urun and Pınar Tarlak were arrested on charge of “being a member of an illegal organization”, the other three figures were released on probation.

What happened?

On March 28, police raided the central office of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper in the district of Beyoğlu in İstanbul and the Gün Printing House, where the issues of the newspaper were printed.

When the attorneys reached the central office of the newspaper, there was someone in suit who said that he was an official from the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF). Although it was alleged that a trustee was appointed to the newspaper, it could not be officially confirmed.

During the raids on March 28 and the house raids on the following days, 33 people from the Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and Gün Printing House were taken into custody, including the Grant Holder of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi İhsan Yaşar, its Managing Editor İshak Yasul and the owner of Gün Printing House Kasım Zengin.

On April 5, eight people were arrested on charge of "aiding an illegal organization knowingly and willfully as non-members." 12 other people, including the owner of Gün Printing House Kasım Zengin were also arrested on charges of "membership of an illegal organization" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

Grant Holder of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper İhsan Yaşar and its Managing Editor İshak Yasul were arrested on charge of "being a member of an illegal organization" and propagandizing for a terrorist organization" on April 6.

Detained during the operation launched on March 28, 20 workers of Gün Printing House were arrested by the court they stood trial.

About Özgürlükçü Demokrasi Newspaper

After Özgür Gündem newspaper was closed on August 16, 2016, Özgürlükçü Gündem newspaper started to be published on August 23, 2016.

Started to be published by Nesrin Media, Publishing and Distribution, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi was recently published and distributed by Engin Media, Publishing Industry and Trade Limited Company.

The newspaper reported the arrests of Özgür Gündem's Executive Editor Zana Kaya and its Editor-in-Chief İnan Kızılkaya in the subheading of its first issue. Kaya and Kızılkaya were arrested on August 22, 2016. Kaya was released on December 29, 2016 and Kızılkaya on November 1, 2017. (BK/TK) Source