What Happened in Özgür Gündem Trials on February 14?

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Trials of 21 journalists who face lawsuits for supporting closed Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign were held on February 14, 2017 at 22nd Heavy Penal Court and 13th Heavy Penal Court.

Three people were penalized in two cases

The prosecutor submitted similar opinions as to the accusations except for two.

Of the Editors-in-Chief on Watch, Cengiz Baysoy was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined 6,000 TL, and journalist İmam Canpolat whose article was published on the day of editorship of Baysoy was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The court also sentenced another Editor-in-Chief on Watch Çilem Küçükkeleş to 15 months in prison and fined 6,000 TL (1,500 Euros) for “spreading terrorism”.

With these penalties, the number of people who were penalized in Editors-in-Chief trials climbed to five.

Earlier Şanar Yurdatapan and İbrahim Bodur’s trials were concluded on January 13, 2017 and both were sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined 6,000 TL by Anti-Terror Law.

Cases held by 13th Heavy Penal Court

Cases of Ayşe Düzkan, Hüseyin Akyol, Ragıp Duran and M. Ali Çelebi’nin are heard by 13th Heavy Penal Court. While Düzkan and Duran are tried for serving as Editors-in-Chief on Watch, Akyol and Çelebi are tried over their articles. Unlike 22nd Heavy Penal Court 13th Heavy Penal Court has combined the cases.

File of Özgür Gündem Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya has been separated and combined with the main case. The hearing will resume on May 9, 2017.

Cases held by 22nd Heavy Penal Court

Trials of Ayşe Batumlu, Derya Okatan, Nadire Mater, Dicle Anter, Cengiz Baysoy, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Çilem Küçükkkeleş, Yıldırım Türker, Necmiye Alpay, Julide Kural, İlham Bakır, A. Kumru Başer, Hasan Cemal, Murat Uyurkulak, Said Sefa, Faruk Balıkçı and Can Dündar are held by 22nd Heavy Penal Court.

Trials of two editors-in-chief on watch (Sefa and Dündar) weren't held; opinion as to the accusations against nine editors-in-chief and one columnist (Mater, Alpay, Türker, Okatan, Anter, Uyurkulak, Kural, Bakır, Balıkçı, Cemal) were submitted and penalty was demanded; two editors-in-chief on watch (Başer, Batumlu) pled; trial of one editor-in-chief on watch (Eryılmaz) was adjourned (April 20).

The journalists are tried separately based on the day of the reports published by the Özgür Gündem.

Trials of Can Dündar and Said Sefa weren’t held

Trials of Said Sefa and Can Dündar were supposed to be held on February 14. Sefa didn’t attend the hearing and his hearing wasn’t held despite his name was called out. Can Dündar’s name was even not called.

Trials of Murat Çelikkan, Beyza Üstün, Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan will be held by 13th Heavy Penal Court on February 16, 2017.

On February 21, 2017, trials of Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Celal Başlangıç, Ömer Ağın, İhsan Çaralan, Celalettin Can, Fehim Işık and Öncü Akgül will be held by 14th Heavy Penal Court.

What happened?

Closed Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief on Watch campaign was launched on May 3, 2016 and ended on August 7, 2016.

56 people joined the campaign.

50 of the attendees faced prosecution. Of the prosecuted, files of the 36 have been turned into cases.

Of the 36 Editors-in-Chief on Watch, Erol Önderoğlu, Ahmet Nesin and Şebnem Korur Fincancı were arrested in June 2016 and released 10 days after it.

Cases of Önderoğlu, Korur-Fincancı and Nesin have been combined.

Cases of Ragıp Duran and Ayşe Düzkan have been combined.

Non-prosecution verdict was issued for 11 of the 50 Editors-in-Chief on Watch.

Case against Deniz Türkali was dropped.

50 investigations

50 people against whom lawsuit was filed are as follows:

Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Ayşe Düzkan, Erol Önderoğlu, Celalettin Can, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, Fehim Işık, Celal Başlangıç, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Ragıp Duran, Nurcan Baysal, Ömer Ağın, Ahmet Abakay, İhsan Çaralan, Işın Eliçin, Murat Çelikkan, Uğur Karataş, Öncü Akgül, Ayşe Batumlu, Sebahat Tuncel, Saruhan Oluç, Nadire Mater, Beyza Üstün, Mehmet Güç, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Faruk Balıkçı, Şeyhmus Diken, Necmiye Alpay, Jülide Kural, Yıldırım Türker, Ahmet Nesin, Kemal Can, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Hasip Kaplan, Nevin Erdemir, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Hakkı Boltan, Cengiz Baysoy, Kumru Başer, Veysi Altay, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Hasan Cemal, Deniz Türkali, Dicle Anter, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Said Sefaoğlu, Aydın Engin, İhsan Eliaçık and İmam Canpolat.

36 cases

The 36 people who are facing prosecution are as follows:

Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Murat Çelikkan, Beyza Üstün, Celal Başlangıç, İhsan Çaralan, Ayşe Batumlu, Celalettin Can, Derya Okatan, Nadire Mater, Erol Önderoğlu, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Ahmet Nesin, Dicle Anter, Cengiz Baysoy, Öncü Akgül, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Çilem Küçükkeleşi Fehim Işık, Yıldırım Türker, Necmiye Alpay, Ayşe Düzkan, Ragıp Duran, Jülide Kural, Kumru Başer, Hasan Cemal, Murat Uyurkulak, Said Sefa, Faruk Balıkçı, Şanar Yurdatapan, Can Dündar, İbrahim Aydın Bodur, Veysi Altay, Deniz Türkali, Nevin Erdemir and Hakkı Boltan.

11 non-prosecution

11 people for whom non-prosecution verdict was issued are as follows:

Eşber Yağmurdereli, Ahmet Abakay, Saruhan Oluç, Işın Eliçin, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, İhsan Eliaçık, Hasip Kaplan, Sabahat Tuncel, Kemal Can and Mehmet Güç. (EA/HK/TK)