Turkey: CFWIJ Welcomes Journalist Canan Coşkun’s Acquittal
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: October 7, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Journalist Canan Coşkun appeared before an İstanbul court today (Thursday) to defend herself terrorism case against her. The court announced its verdict and Canan was eventually acquitted of all charges after many delayed hearings. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes this decision. The court’s verdict proves once again journalism is not a crime. We hope other fabricated cases against journalists are dismissed as well.
During the Taksim Gezi Park protests, 15 years-old Berkin Elvan died as a result of a tear gas canister thrown by a police officer on June 16, 2013. After Berkin’s death, an investigation was conducted into the murder, with several journalists covering the details of the inquiry. Relating to the news stories they aired, one of the police officers involved in the investigation claimed that he was revealed and targeted by leftist organizations threatening his life. Consequently, journalists Canan Coşkun, Ali Açar, and Cansever Uğur faced a prison sentence of one to three years.
Canan’s story, "The Police Allegedly Shot Berkin Elvan Did Not Remember His Place of Duty", was published in the Cumhuriyet newspaper in March 2016. She stated in the first hearing that the police who shot Berkin Elvan could not even be identified for three years before her report.
Today, the journalist defended herself in court at İstanbul’s 34th High Criminal Court against the charge of “targeting officer who took part in counter-terrorism”. Her plea was against the prosecutor’s opinion of the prison sentence. The journalist stated that she covered all developments from the beginning of the investigation about Berkin Elvan’s case. “I looked at the suspect’s statement from his case file. I reported it without mentioning his name. There was no intentional approach to targeting the police officer. I didn't commit a crime, I just reported what I know,” she said at the court.
After Canan’s defense, her lawyer Abbas Yalçın spoke at the court. Abbas specifically underlined that all work the journalists did was journalism-related. “The sole purpose of publishing the coverage is to report the news. Nothing else,” he said in words.
Announcing its decision, the court decided to acquit all the defendants because the act was not defined as a crime in the law.
The CFWIJ welcomes the court’s verdict. The court ruling proved once again that journalism is not a crime. We hope this case will set a precedent for other bogus terror-related cases against journalists who are prosecuted. We believe freedom of the press must exist to ensure a free and fair society.
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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