7 November 2024
Ali Duran Topuz, editor-in-chief of the news website Artı Gerçek, was acquitted by the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.
Topuz had been prosecuted for a report on the reassignment of a criminal judge of peace who had ordered the arrest of journalists and a prosecutor investigating 18 journalists. He faced charges of “targeting persons involved in counter-terrorism” under Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).
At the hearing, Topuz’s lawyer, Mehmet Emin Aktar, stated that they agreed with the prosecutor’s final opinion requesting acquittal. The court ruled that “the alleged act is not defined as a crime in law” and acquitted the journalist.