25–26 March 2025
Following the detention and arrest of İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, mass protests erupted across the city. Photojournalist Bülent Kılıç was arrested in a police raid on his home on 25 March while covering the demonstrations.
On 26 March, Kılıç was charged with “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations” and placed under arrest, but he was released the next day. Journalist organisations declared that these mass arrests were a violation of press freedom.
20 May 2025
In the case scheduled to be heard at the Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance, the files of seven journalists on trial for covering the protests in Saraçhane following the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu were separated. Photojournalists Kurtuluş Arı, Gökhan Kam, Bülent Kılıç, AFP photojournalist Yasin Akgül, Now TV reporter Ali Onur Tosun, and journalists Zeynep Kuray and Hayri Tunç will be retried on 24 October on charges of “participating in an unlawful assembly and demonstration without arms and failing to disperse despite warning,” facing up to three years in prison.
24 October 2025
At the Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance, the first hearing was held in the trial of journalists Bülent Kılıç, Hayri Tunç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı, Gökhan Kam, Emre Orman, and Ali Onur Tosun.
Journalist Bülent Kılıç reiterated his previous statements during the hearing, saying, “Your Honor, it is journalism that is being prosecuted here. We demand our acquittal.” Kılıç emphasized that he attended the Saraçhane protests solely to report the events and was performing his professional duty.
The court rejected the lawyers’ request for immediate acquittal, sent the file to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of the final opinion, and adjourned the hearing to 27 November 2025.
Among those who monitored the hearing were Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey Representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); Özgür Öğret, Turkey Representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); and İzel Sezer, Executive Board Member of the DİSK Press Union (Basın-İş).
