25–26 March 2025
Following the detention and arrest of İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, mass protests erupted across the city. Journalist Hayri Tunç was arrested in a police raid on his home on 25 March while covering the demonstrations.
On 26 March, Tunç 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 Hayri Tunç, Yasin Akgül, Zeynep Kuray, Bülent Kılıç, Kurtuluş Arı, Gökhan Kam, Emre Orman, and Ali Onur Tosun.
Journalist Hayri Tunç stated in his defense that he attended the protests for reporting purposes, saying, “My reason for being at the Saraçhane protests was to report the news.” Tunç emphasized that journalists were present only to perform their professional duties.
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).
