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Last update: 14-Apr-2020 11:14 |
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13 January 2020: The “Özgür Gündem main trial,” where nine former editors, executives and members of the editorial advisory board of the shuttered newspaper Özgür Gündem face terrorism-related charges, resumed on 13 January 2020 at the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The prosecutor presented his final opinion during the hearing, asking the court to convict Aslı Erdoğan and Zana Kaya of “terrorism propaganda” while seeking prison sentences for Eren Keskin, İnan Kızılkaya and Kemal Sancılı on the charge of “membership of a terrorist group.” The prosecutor asked the court to acquit Bilge Aykut and Necmiye Alpay of all charges and to separate the files of Ragıp Zarakolu and Filiz Koçali. Granting the defendants and their lawyers additional time for the preparation of their final defense statements, the court adjourned the trial until 14 February 2020. A report about the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here. 17 July 2019: Prosecutor seeks prison terms for journalists Hüseyin Aykol, Reyhan Çapan and Hasan Başak on three different charges CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL The 12th hearing in the trial of Eren Keskin and Hüseyin Aykol, the former co-editors-in-chief of shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper, its former responsible managing editor Reyhan Çapan and journalist Hasan Başak on the charges of “praising crime and criminal,” “incitement to commit crimes” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” took place on 17 July 2019 at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. P24 monitored the hearing, which was also followed by representatives from Article 19. Neither Aykol, who was sent to prison just last week to serve a previous conviction in another Özgür Gündem trial, nor his co-defendants were in attendance. They were represented by lawyer Özcan Kılıç. During the previous hearing, Kılıç had requested for the case file to be merged with the ongoing “Özgür Gündem main trial,” overseen by the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The presiding judge informed those in attendance during Wednesday’s hearing that the court has only accepted Kılıç’s request in respect of Eren Keskin. Keskin’s file has been separated from this case and sent to the 23rd High Criminal Court to be merged with the ongoing main trial, where she faces similar accusations. The prosecutor then submitted their final opinion, asking the court to convict Aykol, Çapan and Başak of “praising crime and criminal” and “incitement to commit crime.” The prosecutor also sought prison terms for Aykol and Başak on the “propaganda” charge, while they asked the court to convict Çapan of “systematically disseminating terrorism propaganda.” Granting time for the preparation of the final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until 21 November 2019. 17 July 2019: CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL The 12th hearing in the trial of Eren Keskin and Hüseyin Aykol, the former co-editors-in-chief of shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper, its former responsible managing editor Reyhan Çapan and journalist Hasan Başak on the charges of “praising crime and criminal,” “incitement to commit crimes” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” took place on 17 July 2019 at the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. P24 monitored the hearing, which was also followed by representatives from Article 19. Neither Aykol, who was sent to prison just last week to serve a previous conviction in another Özgür Gündem trial, nor his co-defendants were in attendance. They were represented by lawyer Özcan Kılıç. During the previous hearing, Kılıç had requested for the case file to be merged with the ongoing “Özgür Gündem main trial,” overseen by the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The presiding judge informed those in attendance during Wednesday’s hearing that the court has only accepted Kılıç’s request in respect of Eren Keskin. The prosecutor then submitted their final opinion, asking the court to convict Aykol, Çapan and Başak of “praising crime and criminal” and “incitement to commit crime.” The prosecutor also sought prison terms for Aykol and Başak on the “propaganda” charge, while they asked the court to convict Çapan of “systematically disseminating terrorism propaganda.” Granting time for the preparation of the final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until 21 November 2019. 22 May 2019: 7 People Sentenced to Prison in Özgür Gündem Trial
 İstanbul - BIA News Desk22 May 2019, Wednesday 09:14 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 acceptedEren 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 crimeThe 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 peopleAnnouncing 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.
Announcing its judgement on Kemal Sancılı, the Grant Holder of the newspaper who was arrested pending trial, the court board has ruled that Sancılı shall be released in this lawsuit, considering that there is a verdict of conviction previously given for him in another lawsuit. The court board has also ruled that a writ shall be submitted to the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court, requesting that the file of the case at this court where defendants Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan are tried together be separated and combined with the file of Özgür Gündem main trial heard by the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court. Ruling that the file of the case shall also be sent to the Prosecutor's Office for the preparation of the opinion as to the accusations, the court board has also demanded that defendants and their attorneys prepare their statements of defense until the next hearing to be held on July 3, 2019. Eren Keskin: I find this situation tragicomicThe eleventh hearing of the case held today was attended by arrested defendant Kemal Sancılı and Eren Keskin, who is tried without being arrested, as well as several attorneys. Speaking first in the hearing, Sancılı stated, "I only request my release." As for Keskin, she said, "I don't think that I committed a crime by defending this newspaper's freedom of making news. I cannot accept that freedom of thoıght and expression can be oppressed to such an extent in this day and age. I find this situation tragicomic." 28 March 2019: 9 October 2018: Özgür Gündem columnists and editors on trial Another trial on the same day, where Özgür Gündem editors and columnists Eren Keskin, Reyhan Çapan, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Hüseyin Aykol, Filiz Koçali, Ayşe Berktay, Nuray Özdoğan, Celalettin Can and Ayşe Batumlu face “terrorism propaganda” and “overtly praising crime and criminal” charges over some articles and reports published in the now-defunct daily, was also adjourned. Lawyer for Eren Keskin, Özcan Kılıç, requested that Keskin’s file be separated and merged with the Özgür Gündem main trial, overseen by the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court, as she was also a defendant in that case on similar grounds. It was also revealed at the hearing that the file of another defendant who published articles in Özgür Gündem, Züleyha Yılmaz, had been merged with the case file. The court ruled to request the indictment and court reports on previous sessions from the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court and adjourned the trial until 28 March 2019.
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