Journalists Hüseyin Aykol, the former co-editor-in-chief of the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, İnan Kızılkaya, the newspaper’s former managing editor, and Evrensel columnist İhsan Çaralan were convicted of “insulting the President of the Republic” in an article published in Özgür Gündem in 2016 during the editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign in solidarity with Özgür Gündem.

While Aykol and Kızılkaya have been separately sentenced to 1 year, 10 months and 26 days in prison, Çaralan has been ordered a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days. The court board, which has deferred the pronouncement of the judgement, has not ordered the same ruling for Aykol. Accordingly, the execution of prison sentence Hüseyin Aykol has not been suspended.

The trial of İnan Kızılkaya and İhsan Çaralan on the charge of “insulting the President of the Republic” (Turkish Criminal Code Article 299) due to a news article published in the Özgür Gündem newspaper was held at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The trial prosecutor, who presented his opinion as to the accusations at the second hearing of the trial, demanded that the journalists be penalized. The hearing was adjourned until 13 September (March 29).