Turkey: CFWIJ Welcomes Acquittal Of Derya Okatan
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: December 31, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Journalist Derya Okatan and five other journalists who stand trial for reporting on leaked emails of the former energy minister in 2016 continued at the İstanbul 29th High Criminal Court on the last day of 2021. The court acquitted Derya from all charges, however, sentenced the other journalists to one year and eight months in prison on the charge of hindrance or destruction of an information system, deletion or alteration of data”. The prison sentence of five journalists was suspended for two years.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes the acquittal of Derya. However, we condemn the prison sentences for other journalists who solely do their job. We urge the Turkish authorities that journalism is not a crime, and demand annulment for the journalists who were sentenced to prison charges.
Journalists Derya Okatan, Mahir Kanaat, Tunca Öğreten, Ömer Çelik, Metin Yoksu, and Eray Sargın appeared in court for the 14th time to defend themselves over charges of making terrorist propaganda”, “acting on behalf of a terrorist organization without being a member”, “membership in a terrorist organization” and “hindrance or destruction of an information system, deletion or alteration of data”.
The case commonly known as the RedHack trial against the journalists is based on their coverage of leaked emails of former energy minister Berat Albayrak. The journalists reported on Albayrak’s email correspondence from 2000 to 2016, which was leaked by the RedHack hackers' group and published by WikiLeaks in December 2016. After the news reports were published, Tunca and Mahir were detained. An investigation was then launched into the news reports and the five journalists were implicated. Derya faced up to 11 years in prison if she was convicted on the charges framed against her.
At the latest hearing, the prosecution repeated the opinion that it submitted to the court on December 7, 2021. According to the Media and Legal Studies Association (MLSA), Derya Okatan stated that she was surprised by the accusations that were even in her favor. She said she was included in a Twitter group, where the documents leaked, without her knowledge. “I was sued with a suspicious allegation and now I will be punished only according to those claims,” she said to the court board. During her defense, she underlined that she was the subject of those accusations for doing her job in an opposed media outlet Etkin News Agency (ETHA). "Why is it considered that I was working for ETHA? If following the Redhack account [Twitter account] is a crime, shouldn't hundreds of people be prosecuted in this courtroom right now,” she asked the court. The leaked documents were the subject of a report and must be considered within the scope of press freedom, she defended and demanded her acquittal from the court.
Besides Derya, other journalists completed their defense, and as well as Derya they demanded their acquittal. Following the defenses, the lawyers of the journalists took the floor. Derya's lawyer, Ali Koç, emphasized that the president of the court did not listen to him during his defense. He addressed the presiding judge several times. However, after the president of the court did not respond, lawyer Ali Koç took a break. The judge ended the lawyer Koç's defense and promised other lawyers, but the lawyers of the journalists objected to this move and insisted that their colleagues' defense was not over. After the objections lawyer, Ali continued and demanded Derya’s acquittal.
All other lawyers of the defense followed Ali Koç and demanded that their clients be acquitted. The lawyers stated that the prosecutor did not provide any evidence against the journalists. The court acquitted Derya from all charges after a break.
The CFWIJ welcomes the court decision of Derya Okatan. However, we demand an annulment of the prison sentence against other journalists. Journalism is not a crime.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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