Journalist Sultan Eylem Keleş has been sentenced to 8 months and 10 days in prison for "resisting a public official to prevent them from performing their duty" during her coverage of a 2020 workers' protest in İstanbul.
The İstanbul 72nd Penal Court of First Instance announced the verdict after the 11th hearing of the case, which involved Keleş and four other defendants. The court acquitted all defendants of the charge of "insulting a public official" but handed down the prison sentence for the second charge. The announcement of the verdict was deferred, meaning it will not be enforced unless a similar offense is committed within five years.
The case stemmed from protests by former workers of Bimeks, a large tech retail company that began liquidation in 2018. The company, founded by brothers Mehmet Murat Akgiray and Ahmet Vedat Akgiray, allegedly dismissed workers without paying severance or back wages. The protests targeted the Akgiray brothers, who held academic positions at Boğaziçi and Özyeğin Universities.
Keleş, who was covering a protest at Boğaziçi University for Artı TV at the time, was detained along with several protesting workers.
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
According to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), which reported from the courtroom, Keleş did not attend the hearing. Her defense attorney, Batıkan Erkoç from MLSA’s legal team, argued that the charges lacked legal basis.
“My client is a journalist. She was detained while covering a press statement,” Erkoç told the court. “A decision had already been issued that there was no ground for prosecution under the Law on Demonstrations and Public Assemblies. The indictment and final opinion do not specify which act constituted resisting an officer. The expert report also fails to provide concrete identification. We request her acquittal on all charges.”
The prosecution had not acknowledged Keleş’s role as a journalist in its indictment. (HA/VK)
