Turkey: New Court Bench Takes Over Journalist Buse Söğütlü’s Trial
Location: Turkey, İstanbul
Date: January 27, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The sixth hearing of the case against Gazete Yolculuk reporter Buse Söğütlü on terrorism charges was held on Thursday, with lawyers anticipating the verdict to be announced. However, the presiding judge was replaced and the hearing was adjourned till February 3, 2022, with no progress made. The newly appointed bench will now examine the case files, stated the court. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) denounces the delays that have prolonged Buse’s trial. Long drawn out court cases, where the process itself is turned into punishment, serve to intimidate journalists by drying out their resources.
The journalist, affiliated with the newspaper Gazete Yolculuk, appeared before the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court to defend herself on charges of insulting a public official and disclosing the identity of a counter-terrorism official. The evidence against her includes a Twitter post she made, commenting on a former judge of Istanbul 37th High Criminal Court, Akın Gürlek.
An investigation was launched against the journalist, formerly associated with Cumhuriyet Newspaper, after her tweet. In her post, Buse quoted an article published at Gazete Yolculuk, where she now works, and wrote “If Hitler came out of his grave and (…) sat in his chair, more or less, he would use the same phrases as well. Professional ethics and all aside; one should carry the weight of the chair he is sitting on”. Buse was referring to an instance where the former judge had ordered lawyers on trial “to stop talking to each other or that he would change their seats”.
The journalist, through this post, was claimed to have “put the aforementioned judge in the line of target of an armed terrorist organization DHKP-C and other marginal leftist organizations”. Moreover, she faces up to 13 years in prison on charges of “disclosing or publishing the identity of a public official on anti-terrorism duty and identifying them as targets” and “being affiliated with an armed terrorist organization”.
At the previous hearing in September 2021, the prosecution submitted its opinion and moved the court to convict Buse for on the charges of disclosing the identity of counter-terrorism officials and exposing them as targets. During the hearing, it was made evident by files received from the counterterrorism unit that the journalist is not affiliated to any terrorist organization.
Although the charge was not included in the indictment against her, the court directed the journalist to submit additional defense for “insulting a public official”.
At Thursday’s hearing, Buse’s lawyers were expected to submit their arguments before the court but the proceedings were adjourned due to the change in the court bench.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism has closely monitored Buse Söğütlü’s trial and denounces the snags that have delayed the conclusion of the case against her. The charges levied against the journalist reflect poorly on freedom of speech in the country. We call on the Turkish government and judiciary to uphold the rights of free speech and press freedom and drop all unfounded charges against the journalist. In 2022, thus far, we have reported on at least 11 separate legal cases against women journalists. A pattern of legal harassment to intimidate and silence critical journalists in Turkey is evident and stands as a matter of grave concern.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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