Deniz Güngör – Merve Atıcı
A verdict has been reached in the trial of BirGün executives İbrahim Aydın, Uğur Koç and Yaşar Gökdemir, who were prosecuted over a news story mentioning the name of İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. At the hearing held at the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court, the court sentenced Uğur Koç and Yaşar Gökdemir to a fine of 35,400 TL for ‘publicly insulting a public official,’ while İbrahim Aydın was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment. While the sentencing of Gökdemir was postponed, all three were acquitted of the charge of ‘targeting terrorist organisations’. The travel bans on Koç and Gökdemir were also lifted.
The hearing began with the defendants’ defence statements. Uğur Koç, Publication Coordinator at birgun.net, who presented his defence at the hearing, stated, “The prosecution’s opinion only mentions that I shared the news article in question. It is clear that the prosecution did not read my statements in detail. Looking at the indictment, it is stated that the article used derogatory language against the other party. We do not know on what concrete evidence they based this accusation. Akın Gürlek is performing his public duty; the results of these decisions can be criticised. I do not think this is a crime. If Sabah publishes the same content, it is news; if BirGün does it, it cannot be a crime.”
THE CASE WAS BROUGHT AGAINST BİRGÜN, NOT SABAH
Yaşar Gökdemir, former Editor-in-Chief of birgun.net, pointed out in his defence that the news published in BirGün was Sabah’s news. Gökdemir said, “There are two additions to BirGün’s news. One is the phrase “mobile guillotine” in quotation marks, and the other is the section ‘Who is Akın Gürlek? The phrase “mobile guillotine” is not BirGün’s description, but rather a statement by CHP General Chairman Özgür Özel. After we were detained in February, Mr Özel said in a speech, “The phrase ‘mobile guillotine” used in the news article in question is mine’. I do not accept the charges against me and demand my acquittal.”
İbrahim Aydın, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BirGün, pointed out that this is the first time they have been tried in a high criminal court for a news story. In his defence, Aydın noted: “I think Mr Akın Gürlek’s decision to bring this case to this court is a threat, a warning. Akın Gürlek is known as a political figure. We find it surprising that we are being tried for reporting a story that Sabah Newspaper itself reported after visiting the site, and we demand our acquittal.‘
“THERE ARE SERIOUS ERRORS IN THE TRIAL”
After the defences, lawyer Ali Deniz Ceylan took the floor and stated: ’There are very serious errors in this trial. We need to discuss the issue of criminal liability in this case. I have never seen such an indictment in my life. This is also a matter of moral responsibility. Punishment cannot be sought for both participation and under the press law. I request that the Honourable Court explain this when making its decision. This is an arbitrary application against the ballot boxes. Such a criminal trial cannot be held.”
‘IS THE TRIAL BASED ON IDENTITIES?’
The judge warned lawyer Tolgay Güvercin not to repeat himself in his defence. Lawyer Güvercin said, “My client, Uğur Koç, stated in his statement to the police and the prosecutor’s office, during the judicial interrogation and at the first hearing of this trial, that he had made this news report. However, in his opinion, the prosecutor says that Koç made the X post. That is why we are repeating ourselves.‘
Güvercin said in his defence: ’The Sabah newspaper ran a story titled “Visit to Akın Gürlek, the nightmare of terrorist organisations”. There are many stories related to this, and no investigation has been opened into any of them. But the people who reported this story are being tried here. Does the criminalisation of an incident depend on the identity of those who committed it?” he asked.
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MEDIA FREEDOM CANNOT BE DISREGARDED
Erol Önderoğlu from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reacted to the trials of journalists. Önderoğlu said: ‘The sentencing of Uğur Koç, Yaşar Gökdemir and İbrahim Aydın from BirGün and Asuman Aranca from T24 in the last two days indicates that those in power, whether appointed or elected, are protected by the judiciary against any kind of criticism. No one can disregard media freedom along with fundamental rights to criticism!’
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Haberin haberi için ceza verildi, published in BirGün newspaper on October 23, 2025.
