The new Turkey
Cansu Pişkin.
Reporter for the daily Evrense

13-May-2019 20:20

8 May 2019:

Journalist Cansu Pişkin Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison

Journalist Cansu Pişkin, the former reporter of daily Evrensel, has been sentenced to 10 month in prison for her news article entitled “Special Prosecutor for Boğaziçi University Students.” The announcement of the verdict has been deferred.

Charged with "making a public officer a target for terrorist organizations" for openly writing the name of the new prosecutor in her news story entitled "Special Prosecutor for Boğaziçi University Students," former Evrensel reporter Cansu Pişkin has been sentenced to 10 months in prison. The announcement of the verdict has been suspended.

The news article in question was published on daily Evrensel on April 5, 2018 and it was about the arrest of Boğaziçi University students who protested the Operation Olive Branch launched by Turkey into Syria's Afrin in 2018. The third hearing of the case held at the İstanbul 36th Heavy Penal Court yesterday (May 7) was attended by journalist Pişkin and her attorneys. The hearing was also followed by Erol Önderoğlu, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Representative to Turkey, as well as representatives from the International Press Institute (IPI) and Article 19.

Repeating her defense that she made in her previous hearings, Pişkin stated that she made the news in question not with the aim of committing a crime, but to inform the public. Concluding her statement of defense, Pişkin said, "Journalism is not a crime."

Speaking after his client, attorney Levent Pişkin indicated that the element of crime did not arise and requested immediate acquittal of Cansu Pişkin. Underlining that statements of defense have no influence on opinion as to the accusations, attorney Pişkin further stated, "In the previous hearing, we argued over whether prosecutors are public officers or not. Prosecutors are judicial officers, which stems from its independence and its definition as a power of justice."

Prosecutor reported by other newspapers as well

Reminding that Ergün Güçlü, the prosecutor of the time, was also reported by other newspapers, Pişkin continued, "When newspapers such as Sabah and Takvim report, it is not considered a crime, but when daily Evrensel reports, it is deemed a crime. It is not fair and a verdict of conviction would not be compatible with the principles of rule of law."

Pişkin given deferred prison sentence of 10 months

The board of the İstanbul 36th Heavy Penal Court announced its ruling after the break and ruled that journalist Cansu Pişkin shall be sentenced to 1 year in prison on charge of "revealing the identities of public officers who participated in struggle against terrorism."

Reducing the prison term by one sixth, the court has sentenced Pişkin to 10 months in prison. The announcement of the verdict has been suspended. (HA/SD)

* As per the Article 231 of the Law on Criminal Courts (CMK), when a court rules that the announcement of a verdict shall be suspended or deferred, the verdict/sentence is removed in the event that the person does not commit an intentional crime in five years.

25 March 2019:
Journalist Cansu Pişkin’s trial adjourned until May
 
The second hearing of a trial in which journalist Cansu Pişkin, a courthouse reporter for the daily Evrensel, is accused of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target” took place on 25 March at the 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
 
Pişkin is accused because of a news report published last year in Evrensel about the prosecutor appointed to investigate the Boğaziçi University students who were jailed over staging an anti-war demonstration on the school campus.
 
P24 monitored the hearing, where Pişkin’s lawyer Mustafa Söğütlü requested the court immediately acquit Pişkin based on the fact that there was no new evidence raising criminal suspicion.
 
The prosecution then submitted their final opinion of the case, requesting that Pişkin be convicted. Lawyers requested additional time for Pişkin’s defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion.
 
The court agreed to grant additional time and adjourned the trial until 7 May. The panel said they would decide on the request for Pişkin’s immediate acquittal at the next hearing.

6 March 2019:

Evrensel reporter Cansu Pişkin appears in court
 
Journalist Cansu Pişkin, a courthouse reporter for the daily Evrensel, appeared in an Istanbul court on 6 March for the first hearing of her trial on the charge of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target.”  
The accusation stems from a news report published last year in Evrensel about the prosecutor appointed to investigate the case of the Boğaziçi University students who were jailed for staging an anti-war demonstration on the school campus.
 
The 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul agreed to grant additional time for Pişkin’s defense statement and adjourned the trial until 25 March.  A report about the hearing, monitored by P24, can be accessed here.

13 December 2018:

Cansu Pişkin to stand trial for coverage of jailed Boğaziçi students 
 
Cansu Pişkin, a reporter for the daily Evrensel, will stand trial for her news story about Boğaziçi University students who were jailed earlier this year for staging an anti-war demonstration on the school campus.
 
The journalist is accused in the indictment of “making those assigned in the fight against terrorism a target” because the name of the prosecutor appointed to investigate the Boğaziçi University students was revealed in her story. Pişkin faces up to 3 years of imprisonment if convicted at the end of the trial.
 
The trial will get underway on 6 March 2019 at the 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.