Journalist İrfan Uçar, who was detained during the raid on his house in Gaziantep’s İslahiye district on the morning of December 6, was released on condition of judicial control after his statement was taken at the TEM Branch on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 220/2). The phone calls he made 20 years ago as part of his professional activities also formed the basis for the interrogation of Uçar, who had been a journalist since 1998 and was released by the Antep 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace. The Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and the Media and Legal Studies Association (MLSA) provided legal support to Uçar (6 – 8 December).

1 October 2024

Journalist İrfan Uçar is facing trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.” Uçar was detained during a house raid in the İslahiye district of Gaziantep on 6 December 2023 and was later released under judicial control measures.

According to the indictment prepared by the Gaziantep Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Uçar’s news reports and social media posts were cited as evidence. The indictment also referred to digital materials seized during a 2011 raid on journalist Cengiz Kapmaz’s house in Istanbul, in which Uçar’s name appeared in certain writings. Furthermore, Uçar’s interviews about journalist-writer Musa Anter and Adnan Işık, a distributor for the newspaper Özgür Gündem who was killed in Van 24 years ago, were also listed as evidence. The trial is scheduled to begin on 9 January 2025 at the Gaziantep 2nd High Criminal Court. (1 October)

January 9, 2025

The Gaziantep 2nd High Criminal Court began the trial of journalist İrfan Uçar on charges of “membership in an organization.”In his defense, Uçar criticized the gendarmerie raid, stating that it placed a heavy psychological burden on his family and that his father passed away in July due to the stress caused by this process.A secret witness, heard via SEGBİS (Audio-Visual Information System), testified that they did not know journalist Uçar and had no knowledge of whether he produced news reports on the instructions of an organization. Uçar and his lawyers rejected the secret witness statements, declaring them null and void. The court ruled to maintain the international travel ban against the journalist and decided to hear another witness. The hearing was adjourned to April 29, 2025.