Journalist Buse Söğütlü acquitted 2 years, 7 hearings later

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Buse Söğütlü, a reporter for Gazete Yolculuk news website, has been acquitted in the trial where she was facing charges over a tweet where she criticized High Criminal Court Presiding Judge Akın Gürlek.

Two years and seven hearings later, Buse Söğütlü has been acquitted of "turning a counterterrorism official into a target".

At her final hearing held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court, the prosecutor's office reiterated its opinion as to the accusations and demanded the journalist's penalization on the offense charged. Söğütlü, attending the hearing with her lawyers, said that she had made her defense as to the accusations at the previous hearing, and she did not have anything to add.

Handing down its ruling without a recess, the court has ruled that journalist Buse Söğütlü shall be acquitted of "turning a counterterrorism official into a target". However, it has also ruled that a criminal complaint shall be filed against Söğütlü on charge of "insulting a public official."

At the fourth hearing of the trial, the court requested additional defense from Söğütlü on this charge which was not a part of the indictment. With the trial ending in her acquittal, the court has now ruled that a criminal complaint shall be filed to the prosecutor's office on this charge.

What happened?

On March 18, 2019, Buse Söğütlü posted a news report published by Gazete Yolculuk about the trial of the Contemporary Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) and People's Law Bureau (HHB) lawyers.

In sharing the news, Söğütlü attached the following note: "If Hitler left his grave, came here and sat in Akın Gürlek's seat, he would more or less utter the same sentences with him. Professional ethics and everything aside, a person should have the gravity of his seat."

She was put on trial over this tweet.

Hitler mezarından çıkıp gelse ve Akın Gürlek'in sandalyesine otursa aşağı yukarı, hemen hemen aynı cümleleri kurardı herhalde. Mesleki etiği, her şeyi geçtim; insanda biraz oturduğu sandalyenin ağırlığı olur. https://t.co/5ghNyDQONB

— Buse Söğütlü (@busesogutlu) March 18, 2019

CLICK - Journalist on trial 'with the lights on'

About Akın Gürlek

Akın Gürlek, the Presiding Judge of the 14th Heavy Penal Court, was mentioned in the application made to the Constitutional Court about the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) trial.

The related petition referred to him as follows:

"Presiding Judge Akın Gürlek was on duty in the investigation and prosecution phases of the other files related to the trial of the applicants. As the Judge of a Penal Court of Peace, he took part in the investigation where B.E. gave a statement as a confessor to benefit from effective repentance in the applicants' file, in B.E.'s arrest and the prosecution of B.E. as a confessor while he was the Presiding Judge of the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court.

"As the Presiding Judge of the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court, Akın Gürlek also sentenced Cumhuriyet newspaper reporter Canan Coşkun to 2 years, 3 months in prison on charge of 'turning a counterrorism official into a target' by making news on B.E. (...) In another trial where İ.Ö., who was a witness in the lawyers' case, was a defendant, Gürlek took his testimony."

In this trial, Gürlek sentenced ÇHD lawyers to over 159 years in prison.

He was also the Presiding Judge of the court which sentenced CHP İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu to 9 years, 8 months in prison and gave prison sentences to Sözcü journalists on charge of "willingly and knowingly aiding the FETÖ," which is held responsible for the coup attempt in 2016.

Gürlek ruled that former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş should be sentenced to 4 years, 8 months and former HDP MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder to 3 years, 6 months in prison.

He also gave prison sentences to current Chair of Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Gençay Gürsoy in the trial of Academics for Peace, who faced terror charges for having signed the declaration "We will not be a party to this crime."

He has recently defied the Constitutional Court ruling of "right violation" for Enis Berberoğlu and ruled that "there is no need for retrial."

He is currently the Presiding Judge of the court that hears the Hrant Dink murder case filed into the assassination of the journalist.

(HA/SD)