Aslı Erdoğan, Necmiye Alpay and Bilge Aykut Acquitted in Özgür Gündem Main Trial

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The final hearing of the main trial of Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was closed by a Statutory Decree, was held at the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse today (February 14).

Announcing its ruling on nine defendants, including the columnists and editorial advisory board of the newspaper, the court has ruled that the files of Filiz Koçali and Ragıp Zarakolu, against whom there is a warrant and who have not yet testified as part of the lawsuit, shall be separated.

The court has ruled that the files of Zana (Bilir) Kaya, İnan Kızılkaya, Kemal Sancılı and Eren Keskin shall also be separated as time has been requested for their statements of defense as to the accusations.

The court has ruled for the acquittal of Necmiye Alpay and Bilge Aykut.

Pronouncing its judgement on Aslı Erdoğan, the court has ruled that she shall be acquitted of "disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state" and "membership of a terrorist organization." The charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" brought against Erdoğan has also dropped as the four-month period stipulated by the Press Law has been exceeded.

Keskin: I don't have to answer for my opinions

İnan Kızılkaya, Zana (Bilir) Kaya, Eren Keskin, Necmiye Alpay and Kemal Sancılı appeared before the judge in the final hearing today.

Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair lawyer Eren Keskin stated the following in brief in her statement of defense:

"I do not agree with the prosecution's opinion as to the accusations. I am not the member of an organization, but a rights defender.

"I have never taken a gun in my hand in my life. I think differently from the official ideology about the Kurdish issue, the Armenian issue and the Cyprus issue. I have paid a price for that for several times.

"The Court of Cassation stipulates some conditions for membership of a [terrorist/illegal] organization. For instance, it mentions surrendering one's will to the organization. I have never surrendered my will to anyone till today. I am not the member of an organization, but a rights defender. I do not have to answer to anyone for my opinions."

Alpay: Reasons for acquittal should be based on principle of freedom

Presenting her last statement of defense after Keskin, Necmiye Alpay said,

"A verdict of acquittal to be given to us in this trial does not remove the sentences given. Freedom of press and expression is not adequately or openly expressed in the prosecutor's office's opinion as to the accusations in explaining the reasons for acquittal.

"A climate where we can think and write freely should be created. I think that acquittals and reasons for acquittal should be grounded on principle of freedom for that purpose."

Kemal Sancılı also said, "I am 70 years old. I am a person who has not surrendered his will to anyone, even to his father. It is openly written in the press law that a grant holder cannot be held accountable for the news reported. But, I was jailed for 2 years due to this trial. I request my acquittal."

Kızılkaya: Journalism cannot be put on trial

İnan Kızılkaya also made his defense. "The press is for the ones who are ruled, not for the rulers. Journalism means being on the side of the truth", said Kızılkaya and added, "Closing newspapers and punishing journalists mean burying the future of a country in darkness. Journalism cannot be put on trial. Journalism is not a crime."

Attorney Kılıç requested time for defenses

Requesting her acquittal, Zana (Bilir) Kaya said, "Journalists have the right to report news and share them. The aim here is to ensure that society learns the truth, not to propagandize for an organization. I am only a member of the organization of journalism. Even though the power-holders are bothered by that, the press still has the duty to check the power-holders. I do not think that a political judgement should be made about it here."

Özcan Kılıç, the attorney of defendants Sancılı, Kaya, Kızılkaya and Keskin requested time from the court for their statements as to the accusations.

Erdoğan sent a written defense

As Aslı Erdoğan is currently abroad, she sent a written defense to court to be read out by her attorney Erdal Doğan.

In her defense, Erdoğan wrote, "My article was consisting of anti-violence political content. With five-six words cherry-picked from the text, an eight-line accusation was made. No matter who he or she is, extrajudicial execution is a crime. I am calling on the court to claim universal conscience."

Three defendants acquitted

Announcing its ruling, the court has ruled that the files of Filiz Koçali and Ragıp Zarakolu, against whom there is a warrant and who have not yet testified as part of the lawsuit, shall be separated from the others.

The court has ruled for the acquittal of Necmiye Alpay and Bilge Aykut.

Audience of the hearing

Among the ones who monitored today's hearing were also Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs Züleyha Gülüm and Ahmet Şık; Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Representative to Turkey Erol Önderoğlu, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Chair Prof. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı and Milena Buyum from Amnesty International.

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 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 have been 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.

(TP/SD)