Authorities extended the detention period on July 11 for a group of human rights defenders who were taken into custody on July 5 in Istanbul for another seven days on the request of Prosecutor Can Tuncay.
Amnesty International Turkey Director İdil Aser and Veli Acu from the same organization; Nalan Erkem and Özlem Dalkıran from the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly; İlknur Üstün from the Women’s Coalition; Nejat Taştan from the Association for Monitoring Equal Rights (AMER), Şeyhmus Özbekli from the Rights Initiative, information security consultants Ali Garawi and Peter Steudtner were taken into custody during a digital security training. The activists are accused of “membership in a terrorism organization.” Pro-government media has accused them of “plotting against the government.”
The detention of human rights defenders is deemed to be one of the most massive free speech issues in Turkey in the recent period. Their detention will therefore be monitored as part of the Journalists in State of Emergency logs.
Academic-writer Çalışkan detained
Police took academic and columnist Koray Çalışkan into custody during a dawn raid on his home on July 10.
According to media reports, Çalışkan was detained as part of an investigation into the “academic arm” of the organization referred to as the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETÖ/PDY)” along with 41 others. A total of 71 arrest warrants were issued in the investigation, according to media reports.
The CNN Türk news station has reported that Çalışkan was detained for having had frequent phone conversations with the president of the Foundation of Journalists and Writers (GYV), Cemal Uşşak, who died abroad after a battle with cancer in 2016. GYV was shut down after the 15 July coup attempt under an emergency decree.
Journalist Kazım Kızıl released from prison
Documentarist and journalist Kazım Kızıl, who was first taken into custody and then placed in pre-trial detention by court order in İzmir while reporting on protests that erupted after the April 16 constitutional referendum, was released from prison on July 10 under judicial control measures.
Kızıl was first detained by police on April 17 on suspicion of violation Law No. 2911 on Assembly and Protest Marches, but later accused of having insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his tweets. An indictment into Kızıl seeks seven years of imprisonment for the journalist.
In the first session of the trial heard by the İzmir 33rd Criminal Court of First Instance, Kızıl said he was at the protest site as a reporter and that he was conducting journalist work. In response to the allegations that he insulted the president, Kızıl said his tweets fell under the scope of freedom of speech and none of his posts made a call to violence or included phrases that could be considered hate speech.
Meanwhile, bailiffs seized the mobile phone of academic Zafer Yörük, who was among the audience during the hearing, on the grounds that he was paying too much attention to it in the courtroom. Yörük was removed from the courtroom and taken into custody after he objected to the seizure. He was later released.
The number of journalists in prison has fallen to 165 following Kızıl’s release. The full list can be viewed here.
Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee taken by police
Mersin police on July 10 took Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee Umut Ak into custody.
Ak was detained in the Toroslar district of Mersin and is reportedly an epilepsy sufferer. No official reason was offered for his detention.
Ahmet Altan insult trial concluded
On July 11, an Istanbul court concluded an “insult” trial against journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan, ruling to suspend the prosecution.
Altan, who was been in in Silivri Prison since September 23 as part of another case, attended the session via the judicial teleconferencing system SEGBİS. Altan was indicted with insulting members of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in a 2010 article.
Veysel Ok, the legal counsel representing Altan, asked for the release of his client.
The İstanbul Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance ruled to suspend the trial; which means that if Altan doesn’t commit the same crime described in the relevant law for consecutive three years, the probe will be dropped. If he does however, the investigation will resume.
Imprisoned Journalists in Turkey
1 Abdulkadir Turay, DİHA reporter
2 Abdullah Kılıç, Habertürk
3 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
4 Abdullah Özyurt, Zaman reporter
5 Abdulvahap İş (Freelance journalist)
6 Abdürrahim Ersöz, Antalya
7 Ahmet Altan
8 Ahmet Memiş, Gazeteci, Haberdar news website
9 Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist
10 Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet reporter
11 Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
12 Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
13 Akın Atalay, Pres. of Cumhuriyet Foundation Executive Board
14 Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
15 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
16 Ali Aşikar – Azadiya Welat
17 Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
18 Ali Bulaç, Eski Zaman columnist
19 Ali Konar, Azadiya Welat bureau chief
20 Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
21 Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
22 Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
23 Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
24 Atilla Taş, Meydan columnist
25 Ayhan Demir, Çaldıran News Agency
26 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
27 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
28 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
29 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
30 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
31 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
32 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
33 Bülent Utku, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member
34 Bünyamin Köseli, Aksiyon magazine reporter
35 Cebrail Parıltı, Anadolu Ajansı (AA) Derik reporter
36 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
37 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
38 Cihan Acar, Bugün reporter
39 Cuma Kaya, Zaman
40 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
41 Deniz Yücel, Die Welt
42 Emin Demir, Freelancer
43 Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter
44 Ercan Gün, Fox TV
45 Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor
46 Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor
47 Erol Yüksel (TRT News Department vice president))
48 Erol Zavar, Odak magazine, owner and newsroom director
49 Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum
50 Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency
51 Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief
52 Fevzi Yazıcı
53 Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist
54 Gökmen Ulu, Sözcü
55 Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine
56 Gültekin Avcı
57 Güray Tekin Öz, columnist
58 Habip Güler, Zaman reporter
59 Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director
60 Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor
61 Hakan Karasinir, columnist
62 Hakan Taşdelen
63 Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)
64 Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist
65 Hamza Günerigök, TRT
66 Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist
67 Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor
68 Haşim Söylemez, Aksiyon columnist
69 Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper’s owner and managing editor
70 Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
71 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group President
72 Hülya Karakaya, Özgür Halk Managing Editor
73 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
74 Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
75 İbrahim Balta, Zaman business editor
76 İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
77 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
78 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
79 İlker İlkan, Azadiya Welat
80 İnan Kızılkaya, Özgür Gündem Newsroom Editor
81 İsa Siyi, Haberdar
82 İsmail Avcı, Zaman
83 İsmail Efe, local press advisor in İzmir
84 Kadri Gürsel, Editorial Advisor
85 Kamuran Sunbat, DİHA Çukurova reporter (formerly)
86 Kemal Sancılı, Özgür Gündem copyrights holder
87 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
88 Lokman Erdoğan, Çorum Manşet, owner
89 Mahir Kanaat, BirGün, head of accountingn
90 Mediha Olgun, Sözcü
91 Mehmet Altan
92 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
93 Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
94 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
95 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
96 Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
97 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
98 Meşale Tolu, ETHA translater
99 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
100 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM General Publications Coordinator
101 Mizgin Çay – Radyo Karacadağ
102 Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
103 Murat Aksoy,former Yeni Şafak columnist
104 Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
105 Murat Çapan,
106 Murat Dağdeviren (Demokrat Gebze owner)
107 Murat Sabuncu, Editor-in- Chief
108 Musa Kart, Cartoonist
109 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor,
110 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
111 Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member
112 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
113 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
114 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
115 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız (local) Editor-in-Chief
116 Nedim Türfent,DİHA
117 Nizamettin İzgi (Batman Newspaper’s owner)
118 Nur Ener, Yeni Asya
119 Nuri Durna, TRT
120 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
121 Nurullah Kaya, G.antep Zaman representative
122 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
123 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
124 Ozan Kaplanoğlu, Bursa Muhalif
125 Ömer Çelik, DİHA news manager
126 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
127 Ömer Özdemir, Antalya eski Zaman muhabiri
128 Önder Çelik, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member
129 Özcan Keser (TRT reporter)
130 Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
131 Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
132 Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
133 Sadık Demir – Radyo Karacadağ
134 Salih Erbekler – Radyo Karacadağ
135 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine Managing Editor
136 Selman Keleş, DİHA
137 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
138 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
139 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
140 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
141 Sezgin Kartal, Sosyalist Dayanımşa magazine
142 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
143 Şahin Alpay, Zaman columnist
144 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
145 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
146 Şirin Çoban, Azadiya Welat
147 Tahsin Kürklü, Zaman – head of Logistics Department
148 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
149 Tunca Öğreten, former Diken editor
150 Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
151 Turhan Günay, Chief Editor of Cumhuriyet supplement
152 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
153 Ulaş Sezgin, ETHA reporter
154 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
155 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
156 Vedat Beki, Sözcü 18
157 Vedat Demir, former Yarına Bakış writer
158 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
159 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
160 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
161 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
162 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
163 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
164 Zafer Özsoy
165 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter
