Defendants: Eren Keskin, Filiz Koçali, Aslı Erdoğan, Necmiye Alpay, Ragıp Zarakolu, Zana Bilir Kaya, İnan Kızılkaya, Kemal Sancılı, Bilge Aykut

Media Outlet and Position: Özgür Gündem – Co-editor-in-chiefs, editors and journalists

Status: Imprisoned (names in bold)

Facility: Silivri Prison, İstanbul

Accusations: Terrorist propaganda; Overtly inciting a crime; Praising a crime and the criminal

Charges: –

Court: İstanbul 23. High Criminal Court

Case Background: 

Editors, journalists and columnists for the now-shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper were brought to court on accusations of “overtly inciting a crime” and “terrorist propaganda” over the daily’s articles and reports.

The journalists are being tried for their participation in a solidarity campaign, titled “Editors-in-Chief on Watch”, on behalf of Özgür Gündem. There are three other on-going cases against Özgür Gündem, in which staff members and journalists are being tried for their participation in the “Editors-in-Chief on Watch” campaign.

Aslı Erdoğan and Necmiye Alpay were previously detained in August 2016 and released on bail after over 4 months in jail. The travel bans on both journalists were lifted in June 2017. Erdoğan now lives in exile in Germany.

İnan Kızılkaya and Kemal Sancılı each spent over 300 days in pretrial detention. Both journalists were released on bail on October 31, 2017. Sancılı was re-arrested in May 2018. Kızılkaya is reportedly facing over 90 filed lawsuits for his journalistic work in Özgür Gündem.

During a hearing on January 17, 2019, the court took up the cases of the co-Editors-in-Chief of Özgür Gündem, Eren Keskin and Zana Bilir Kaya, and Bilge Aykut, as well as author Aslı Erdoğan, philologist and editor Necmiye Alpay, human rights activist and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu, news editor İnan Kızılkaya, the owner of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, Kemal Sancılı, and political party member Filiz Koçali.

Eren Keskin’s travel ban was lifted after the hearing. The court adjourned the case until April 10, 2019, for digital materials to be examined. The court also ruled for the continuation of Sancılı’s detention.

On March 29, 2019, the daily’s co-Editors-in-Chief Eren Keskin, a prominent journalist, and Managing Editor Reyhan Çapan, were sentenced to 7.5 years in prison each on charges of “insulting the President and state institutions”, in relation to three reports published in Özgür Gündem in 2015.

On April 10, 2019, Kemal Sancılı argued that he was not responsible for transmitting the examined digital materials, and requested he be discharged. Though the court granted his release, he was brought back to prison in relation to sentencing in another case. He is the only defendant who has remained in detention throughout the course of this case.

During the hearing on July 3, 2019, the public prosecutor requested additional time to prepare his final statement. The court accepted his request and adjourned until November 28, 2019.