The hearing of the “slander” case filed against journalist Barış Terkoğlu on the grounds that he wrote in his opinion columns that the then Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor İrfan Uçar unlawfully intervened with judges was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The hearing was attended, in addition to an observer from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), by Özgür Deniz Kaya, Chair of the Istanbul Branch of the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS), and Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

“The allegation of interference with the judiciary was reflected even in HSK minutes”

In his defense statement against the opinion on the merits, Terkoğlu recalled that in his opinion column he voiced allegations that the then chief public prosecutor exerted pressure on the judiciary at the Anadolu Courthouse. Terkoğlu said, “In these four years, developments occurred that confirmed my article. For example, I wrote that Judge Hüseyin Zengin, who was hearing the ‘idiot case,’ was subjected to pressure. This judge’s place of duty was changed,” he said.

Terkoğlu stated that after the article in question, he was first summoned to give a statement by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, whereas procedurally all other investigations against him were conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office because he writes for the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and asked, “Isn’t this summons an indirect confirmation of the pressure I mentioned in my article?”

Terkoğlu also referred to the petition sent by the then Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), which was discussed in public for a long time. “Uçar personally said that some decisions at the Anadolu Courthouse, where he served as chief public prosecutor, were taken through persuasion. When he says it, when he writes it to the HSK, it is not a crime, but when I write it, is it a crime?” he said. Terkoğlu concluded his defense with the words, “I am a journalist, I am after the truth,” and requested his acquittal.

Terkoğlu’s lawyer Enes Ermaner requested that Judge Hüseyin Zengin, whose name was mentioned in Terkoğlu’s article that is the subject of the charge, be heard as a witness. However, the court rejected this request, taking into account the stage the case had reached.

Lawyer Enes Ermaner stated that in the article, the name of the complainant prosecutor İrfan Uçar was not written explicitly, but was coded only with his initials. Ermaner said, “My client is a journalist. His article has a factual basis and public interest. Even though the accusation is based on an allegation of false news, my client conveyed the information he obtained from its source in a manner appropriate to apparent reality,” and requested acquittal.

In his final words, Barış Terkoğlu said, “I wish for your decision to be in accordance with the law.”

The court gave the journalist a prison sentence of 1 year and 15 days on the charge of “slander.” The sentence was suspended on the condition of two years of probation.