Activists Prosecuted for Criticising The Judges

Charges of "insult of public officials, identifying them as a target and the attempt to influence a fair trial" are being pressed against Rıdvan Kaya, President of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Education Rights (Özgür-Der), Vakit newspaper Editor-in-Chief Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu and Kenan Kıran. The case is based on articles published in the Vakit daily that expressed criticism of various judicial decisions.

Kaya and the newspaper officials are facing prison sentences on the grounds of writings regarding the release of Chief Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner and 14 defendants of the "Sledgehammer" investigation. Another article subject of the trial was published on 19 June 2010 and touched upon a compensation fine for judges because they did not release "Ergenekon" defendant Mehmet Haberal. The indictment prepared by Bakrıköy Prosecutor Pircan Barut Emre seeks prison terms for the defendants according to Articles 52, 125 and 288 of the Turkish Criminal Law.

The first hearing of the trial heard at the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on Tuesday (1 February) was attended by Özgür-Der President Kaya and his lawyer Mehmet Alagöz. Kaya said in his defence that he "used his freedom to criticism in pursuance of his social responsibility". He stated not to have insulted anybody. In relation to allegations of "identifying a target" and "insult" as put forward in the indictment, Kaya drew attention to the following points:

"It is alleged that the people on subject were indentified as a target but it is not defined to whom."The people on subject have not been targeted. Rather than an accusation directed at an individual, a bad functioning mechanism has been criticized. Since individuals have not been targeted, there is no way that people have been humiliated".

Kaya: The forces able to influence the judiciary are clear

"It is clear which forces are able to influence a trial in Turkey. These can be the General Staff, the government and the big media institutions. It is not logic that the representative of a rights organization influences the court with his statement given to a newspaper".

"We expressed our concern about an issue the public is sensitive about. (...) As a matter of fact, it was emphasized in the decisions of the European Courts of Human Rights that freedom to criticism does not only include statements tolerable within the scope of freedom of expression but also comprises unsettling, shocking and disturbing statements".

"Justice should be open to criticism"

Kaya stated that the allegations put forward by the prosecution were irrelevant. He argued that also judges may give wrong decisions and that they should be open to criticism.

The lawyer of from the Special Authority High Criminal Court judge Yılmaz Alp applied for joint plaintiff status as well as members of the Court of Appeals 11th Criminal Chamber. The case was postponed to 23 May. (EÇ/EÖ/VK)