An İstanbul court has sentenced journalist Asuman Aranca to 10 months in prison for publishing details from an expert report related to the 2021 assassination of Sinan Ateş, former leader of the Turkish nationalist Grey Wolves (Ülkü Ocakları) group.
The sentence was deferred by the court, meaning it will not be enforced unless Aranca commits another offense within a specified period.
The İstanbul 2nd Penal Court of First Instance ruled that Aranca, a reporter for independent news outlet T24, violated the confidentiality of the investigation with her article titled, “T24 obtains expert report in Sinan Ateş murder file: Grey Wolves chair allegedly requested Ateş's address.”
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Originally sentenced to one year in prison, the court reduced the sentence to 10 months due to good conduct and ruled to defer the announcement of the verdict.
The Journalists Association of Turkey criticized the court's decision, describing it as "yet another example of attempts to criminalize journalism."
It also noted that Aranca's article had been awarded the association's 2024 Investigative Journalism Award.
“We will keep saying 'journalism is not a crime' and stand against all forms of pressure targeting journalists who report in the public interest," said the statement.
The hearing
During the hearing, held via video conference from Ankara, both Aranca and her lawyer, Mustafa Gökhan Tekşen, denied the charges. Prosecutors argued that the publication of details from the expert report exceeded the boundaries of press freedom and did not serve the public interest.
Aranca rejected this claim, stating, “The report in question is 900 pages long. The part concerning the individual is 400 pages. It is not possible to publish the entire document.”
She also emphasized the continued political and public relevance of the case, adding, “One of the suspects was recently killed in broad daylight. This case has been part of public discourse, even fictionalized in TV series like 'Behzat Ç.' How can there be no public interest?”
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
She further argued that the report had already been shared with parties involved in the investigation, meaning it was no longer confidential. All individuals named in the report had already been convicted, so the presumption of innocence had not been breached, she added.
Her lawyer said, “Neither the prosecution nor any other authority has the power to dictate how journalism should be conducted,” he said, adding that the indictment itself acknowledged the newsworthiness of the report.
Tekşen highlighted that the article had received journalism awards from the Progressive Journalists Association, the Journalists Association of Turkey, and the Ankara Journalists Association. He also stated that no parties named in the article had filed a complaint.
Following the defense, the court announced its decision to convict Aranca but deferred the sentence, effectively suspending it unless further legal infractions occur. (AEK/VK)
