A lawsuit was filed against 28 people, including Sovtna newspaper’s founder Ali Arslan (Dadük) and HRT reporter Can Bedros Çapar, who were taken into custody while they were filming the incidents ensuing the gendarmerie intervention in Hatay province against the commemoration ceremony for a student who lost his life in the bomb attack in Urfa’s Suruç in 2015. Put on trial in 2017, they were charged with “violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” and “resisting to prevent public duty” (Turkish Penal Code / TCK – Article 265/1).
The final hearing of the case was held at the Samandağ Criminal Court of First Instance on November 12, 2021. The court ruled that Dadük and Çapar as well as 7 other defendants should be given prison sentences of 10 months to 1 year. The pronouncement of the verdict has been suspended (November 12).