The first hearing of the case filed against journalists was seen. Journalists, Serpil Ünal, Yadigar Aygün, Pınar Gayip, Eylem Nazlıer, Zeynep Kuray and Esra Soybir, who came together in Kadıköy on April 29, 2023 to protest the operations against free press workers in Amed and were beaten and detained. The hearing of the case filed with the allegation of "participating in unlawful meetings and marches unarmed and not dispersing spontaneously despite the warning" was held at the 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance in the Anatolian Courthouse. All journalists except journalist Esra Soybir were present at the hearing. Many names from the press and legal organizations followed the hearing.

 

GAYIP: WE WERE EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE

 

Pınar Gayip, editor of Etkin News Agency (ETHA), who made her defense after the identification, stated that the police chief she met with before the action told her that there was no prohibition decision. Pointing out that they learned about the ban decision at the protest site, Gayip explained that they were blocked due to "blocking the road". Gayip stated that they were exposed to swearing and violence by the police and said: "The reason for the ban is our call for solidarity with Kurd journalists. Because the mainstream media declared our journalist friends as 'terrorists' at that time."

 

KURAY: SOLIDARITY IS BEING CRIMINALIZED

 

Journalist Zeynep Kuray: “I went there to protect my colleagues. I do not accept these bans and I also opened the banner 'Free press cannot be silenced'.” Kuray emphasized that solidarity with the Kurdish press has been criminalized.

 

AYGÜN: WE WILL DEFEND KURD JOURNALISTS

 

Newspaper Patika reporter Yadigar Aygün said that she was handcuffed backwards even though she stated that she had a heart disease. Aygün said: “AKP targeted the Kurdish press before the election and that's why they carried out operations against the Kurdish press. This detention was arbitrary. Protests are still taking place there, but no one intervenes. And the decision was taken very suddenly. I was harassed and slapped in the face. Why aren't those who sued us prosecuted? We will always defend journalists in the Kurdish press. Many of them are in prison, I will continue to defend them. The real criminals are those who filed this lawsuit unjustly and unlawfully."

 

ÜNAL: WE WERE TAKEN INTO DETENTION WITH TORTURE

 

Struggle Union newspaper reporter Serpil Ünal said, “We were detained under very serious torture. I fell to the ground as they tried to pull me up. When my friends intervened, they attacked them too. We complained about them. Our hands were bruised due to the tightness of the reverse handcuffs. We carried out the action to release Kurdish journalists. "Because they were detained because they were reporting news," he said.

 

NAZLIER: I WILL CONTINUE TO DEFEND

 

Evrensel newspaper reporter Eylem Nazlıer stated that it was not a coincidence that they were tried on January 10, Working Journalists' Day: "Journalist Metin Göktepe was murdered under torture in custody on January 8, 1996. We were being murdered in the darkness of the 1990s, and now we are being tried to intimidate with detentions. The newspaper where Göktepe worked "I work in a newspaper that pays a fee. I know the weight of this very well. Because I knew this, I participated in that protest that day. We come from the tradition of Journalist Metin Göktepe. I do not accept the sentence the police told me, 'you will learn to remain silent'. I will continue to defend my colleagues and my profession."

 

REQUEST FOR ACQUITTAL

 

Ümmühan Kaya, one of the lawyers of the journalists, reminded the articles of international agreements and the constitution and said that her clients did not commit a crime. Kaya said, "They met with the police, the police said there would be no problem. But they detained our friends at the last minute. How can the police act so unlawfully? Journalists are being tried here today despite being subjected to so much torture. I demand the acquittal of our clients."

 

THE HEARING HAS BEEN POSTPONED

 

Lawyers demanded that the detention footage and the Kadıköy Governorship's "ban" decision be included in the file. The court board accepted the lawyers' requests and postponed the hearing to April 16.