Journalists on trial for 'marking counterterrorism officer as a target for outlawed leftist group'

A graffiti of Berkin Elvan in Athens (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Between November 6 and 12, one journalist received a deferred prison sentence for "insulting the president," two TV channels were fined over comments on the government, one journalist was released from remand after spending 155 days behind bars, and a case against three journalists for "marking a counterterrorism officer as a target" continued, according to bianet's Media Monitoring Database. 

Here is this week's summary:

"Marking state officials as a target for terrorist groups"

Last December, a lawsuit was filed against three journalists from BirGün and Cumhuriyet newspapers regarding news articles about the killing of Berkin Elvan (15), who was shot with a tear gas canister in İstanbul during the 2013 Gezi Park protests. 

Both newspapers obtained the testimony of E.Y., a police officer involved in the incident, and reported on it on March 11, 2016, with BirGün noting that a confidentiality order was issued regarding the investigation "to protect the reputation" of the police officer who shot Berkin Elvan.

After the reports were published, Canan Coşkun and Ali Açar from Cumhuriyet and Can Uğur from BirGün were indicted for "marking a counter-terrorism officer as a target" as per Article 6 of the anti-terror law.

By disclosing the identity of a suspect police officer, the reporters caused him to become a target for "leftist terror groups," which had "exploited" Berkin Elvan, according to the indictment.

The indictment also linked the news reports to the 2015 killing of Public Prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who headed the investigation about Elvan at the time.

Two members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) had taken Kiraz hostage in his courthouse room, demanding the name of the police officer who shot Elvan be disclosed. All three people had been killed during a police operation after hours of negotiations.

Releasing a statement after the incident, the DHKP-C also revealed the name of the police officer and threatened him with death, the indictment noted.

After the lawsuit was opened, police officer F.D., the suspect of Elvan's killing, became a plaintiff. 

In the second hearing of the case on November 10, the court ruled that F.D. was not "aggrieved" by the reporters and removed his plaintiff status. 

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The "military espionage" case over a tapped phone conversation

Spending 155 days on remand over two articles and a tapped phone conversation, journalist Müyesser Yıldız was released after the first hearing of the case against her and two other people on November 9.

Yıldız, the Ankara news director of OdaTV news site, İsmail Dükel, the Ankara representative of TELE1 TV, and Noncommissioned Officer Erdal Baran were detained on June 8 as part of an investigation about "military espionage."

While Dükel was released four days later, Yıldız and Baran were remanded in custody. The charge against the three people was changed to "disclosing confidential information."

Yıldız was sent behind bars over two articles about Turkey's military and intelligence operations in Libya, which was also the subject of the tapped phone conversation between her and the officer.

However, she said in the hearing that the articles had been online for nearly six months and were based on not her conversation with Baran but on open sources.

This case was a plot against her, she said. "The target is clear: Me... But, what do you want from a valuable journalist, İsmail Dükel, whom I haven't seen in years, what do you want from a poor noncommissioned officer who has an illness?"

Handing down its judgment, the court ruled for the release of Yıldız and the continuation of the remand of Baran.

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Penalties on TV channels

The Radio and Television Supreme Council imposed administrative fines on Halk TV and TELE1, broadcasters known for their critical stance towards government, due to comments about the government and the army. 

The presenter of a news program on TELE1 had said, "The officers of the [police] organization headed by [President] Erdoğan and Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu can comfortably enter into cemevis [Alevi place of worship] and pee there."

The RTÜK found that those remarks were not based on any evidence, information, or documents and brought the police organization under suspicion and fined the channel for "derogatory, insulting or defamatory expressions beyond the limits of criticism."

A guest said during a program on Halk TV that "The army, the police are almost purged now. We don't have a very strong state. Currently, we neither have an army nor a police force that can wage a land war. The state doesn't have an army to react in the field apart from UAVs and UCAVs."

The council ruled that his remarks could harm the security institutions' morale and fined the channel.

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Insulting the president

An investigation was launched against Ali Ergin Demirhan, an editor for the sendika.org news website, over his six tweets from the year 2018 for insulting the president.

Demirhan had his second hearing at the İstanbul 22nd Penal Court of First Instance on November 6.

He explained each tweet in question, rejected the offense charged and requested his acquittal at the hearing.

Handing down its judgment, the court sentenced Demirhan to 1 year, 2 months, 17 days in prison and deferred the pronouncement of the verdict.

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