Appeals court overturns verdict of acquittal for Korur-Fincancı, Önderoğlu, Nesin

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An appeals court has overturned the verdict of acquittal for Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Representative to Turkey and BİA Media Monitoring Reporter Erol Önderoğlu, writer Ahmet Nesin and Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Chair Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı in the "Özgür Gündem newspaper trial."

After the three people, among others, participated in the "Editors-in-Chief on Watch" campaign launched in solidarity with Özgür Gündem, which was closed in 2016 by the Statutory Decree no. 675, they stood trial for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

As part of the campaign, 56 people acted as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper for one day each.

After an investigation was opened into the campaign, Önderoğlu, Korur-Fincancı and Nesin were remanded in custody on June 20, 2016. Önderoğlu and Korur-Fincancı were released 10 days after the arrest while Nesin spent one more day behind bars.

While all three defendants had been acquitted, the prosecutor's office had appealed the decision.

The 3rd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice yesterday (November 3) overturned the verdict of acquittal by the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court on procedural grounds, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reported.

In its decision, the appeals court noted that the heavy penal court acquitted the defendants on the grounds that there was no evidence that they actually fulfilled the duty of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and they could not be held criminally liable in accordance with Article 11 of the Press Law.

Also stating in its decision that Özgür Gündem's "responsible managing editor," İnan Kızılkaya, should be held responsible for the content, the heavy penal court had separately acquitted the three defendants, the appeals court noted.

However, it said, the defendants' defense statements showed that they knew what was published in the newspaper.

According to the appeals court, the heavy penal court did not take into account the necessity to ask Kızılkaya whether he had informed the defendants about the content of the newspaper and combining the cases of Kızılkaya if necessary.

Therefore, it stated, the appeal was appropriate because the heavy penal court gave a judgment with an inadequate examination and with a written justification.

The court of justice unanimously ruled that the verdict of acquittal should be overturned as per Article 280/1-d of the Law on Criminal Procedure and the decision was final as per Articles 284 and 280/1-f of the Law on Criminal Procedure.

Özgür Gündem Trials

The Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign of Özgür Gündem daily began on May 3, 2016, and ended on August 7, 2016. The newspaper was closed by the Statutory Decree No. 675 issued under the State of Emergency.

Investigations were filed against 49 of 56 editors-in-chief on watch, 11 of them have ended in verdicts of non-prosecution and 38 files have turned into lawsuits.

Relying on the Articles 7(2) and 6(2) of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713, the 38 Editors-in-Chief on Watch 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.

1 of 38 cases dropped

Lawsuits were filed against 38 people, one of them has dropped. That is, as the charges brought against Deniz Türkali violated statutory limitations, they have been dropped.

188 months, 15 days in prison and 67 thousand TRY fine

In the trial of Editors-in-Chief on Watch, the court has announced its ruling on 34 people, namely: Şanar Yurdatapan, İbrahim Bodur, Cengiz Baysoy, Hüseyin Tahmaz, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Nadire Mater, Yıldırım Türker, Hasan Cemal, Faruk Balıkçı, Dicle Anter, Derya Okatan, Kumru Başer, Ayşe Batumlu, Jülide Kural, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Çelikkan, Beyza Üstün, Nevin Erdemir, Hakkı Boltan, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Hüseyin Aykol, Ayşe Düzkan, Ragıp Duran, Öncü Akgül, İhsan Çaralan, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Celal Başlangıç, Celalettin Can, Fehim Işık and Faruk Eren.

7 acquittals

The court has given a ruling of acquittal for the following 7 people: Erol Önderoğlu, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Ahmet Nesin, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Nevin Erdemir, Hüseyin Tahmaz and Hakkı Boltan.

27 people sentenced to 293 months, 15 days in total

27 people have been sentenced to 67 thousand TRY and 293 months and 15 days.

Murat Çelikkan, whose prison term was not deferred, entered Kırklareli Prison on August 14, 2017, was transferred to open prison on October 14, 2017, and released on October 21, 2017.
Ayşe Düzkan, the editor-in-chief on watch whose prison term was not deferred, was imprisoned on January 29, 2019, as the Court of Appeal upheld her prison sentence. Taken to Bakırköy Women's Prison, Düzkan was released on June 12.
Özgür Gündem Editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol was arrested on July 12, 2019, as he was convicted and sentenced to 3 years, 9 months in prison. Aykol was released on October 25, 2019.
Editors-in-Chief on Watch Erol Önderoğlu, Ahmet Nesin and Şebnem Korur Fincancı were arrested on June 20, 2016. They were released 10 days later.

Cases of 3 people still continue

Can Dündar, Said Sefa and Veysi Alta

Kızılkaya's cases

Özgür Gündem Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya is a 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.

Lawsuits against 9 columnists

Lawsuits were filed against the columnists of the newspaper Ömer Ağın, İmam Canpolat, İlham Bakır, Mehmet Şirin Taşdemir, Veysel Kemer, Yüksel Oğuz, Dilşah Kocakaya, Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş.

Dilşah Kocakaya, İmam Canpolat and İlham Bakır were sentenced to 15 months in prison each. While the prison term of Bakır has been deferred, those of Canpolat and Kocakaya have not been. Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş have been each sentenced to 1 year, 6 months in prison. The prison sentences have not been deferred.

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.

In the hearing of the main trial held on April 10, 2019, the board of the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court ruled that Kemal Sancılı, the Grant Holder of the newspaper, should be released as he was convicted and sentenced to prison in another trial heard by the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court. Sancılı is still behind bars.

Moreover, while Eren Keskin is standing trial in 47 cases as the former permanent Editor-in Chief of Özgür Gündem, Hüseyin Aykol is standing trial in 38 cases as the former permanent Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper.

(EKN/VK)

ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM NEWSPAPER TRIALS