20/09/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
The third hearing of the lawsuit filed against Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım and Yıldız Tar, who were detained in Ankara while protesting the arrest of journalists, was held on 19 September.
The third hearing in the case against journalists Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım, and Yıldız Tar, who were detained in Ankara while protesting the arrest of fellow journalists, took place on 19 September at the Ankara 71st Criminal Court of First Instance. The journalists face charges for allegedly “having the police beat them.”
In the trial, as reported by MLSA’s Nalin Öztekin, Sibel Yükler and Yıldız Tar were present, while Deniz Nazlım was absent. Lawyers Muhammed Ünsal and Gulan Çağın Kaleli from the MLSA Legal Unit represented the journalists in court.
The newly appointed judge highlighted that the footage from the day of the incident, including an expert examination, was added to the case file. Both Yükler and Tar made their defense statements, with Yükler asserting that the sections of the footage presented did not capture the full extent of the violence they had endured. Tar further emphasized the harassment she had experienced.
Defense lawyer Gulan Çağın Kaleli pointed out that the expert report had selectively reviewed the footage and did not include all the critical sections requested.
The court ruled to exempt journalists from the hearings, with the next session scheduled for 7 January 2025.
What happened?
Journalists attempting to protest the arrest of their colleagues in Diyarbakır at the Atatürk Monument Square in Ulus were stopped by police, who claimed that press statements were not allowed in the area. Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım, and Yıldız Tar, who were inside an arcade in the area, were beaten and detained by police officers. Photographs included in the DVD Monitoring and Detection Report documented the three journalists being beaten to the ground before their detention.
The journalists detained under torture, were released the same day after giving their statements. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) prepared a report confirming that the journalists had been beaten. However, the prosecutor’s office decided not to pursue the criminal complaint against the police officers for charges including “torture,” “insult,” “failure to report an offense,” “deprivation of liberty,” and “injury by excessive use of force”.
Shortly after the decision of non-prosecution against the police officers, a lawsuit was filed against three journalists on charges of “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations”.
Tags: human rights
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