Reporting on the allegations of harassment at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University in 2017, journalist Gençağa Karafazlı, charged with “insult” (as per the Turkish Penal Code Article 125), had his second hearing at the Rize 4th Criminal Court of First Instance on September 27, 2022.
The court ruled that six students who filed a criminal complaint against Assoc. Prof. Serkan Hacivanferoğlu on charges of “mobbing and harassment” should be heard as witnesses. The next hearing will be held on December 20 (September 27).
At the hearing held on December 20, 2022, Karafazlı said, “The news I published was real, current and catering to public good. The one who should be put on trial here is not me, but the academic who subjected students to mobbing. I request my acquittal.” The court adjourned the trial. The next hearing will be held on March 1, 2023 (December 20).