Upon the criminal complaint of Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, journalist Metin Cihan was put on trial on charge of “insulting a public official due to their duty via an audio, written or visual message”. 

At the hearing held by the İstanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance, the judge indicated that the file of the lawsuit filed against Cihan over a tweet on October 7 had been merged with the current file. 

While Cihan’s lawyer was present in the courtroom at the hearing held on October 18, 2022, complainant Albayrak’s lawyer did not attend the hearing by offering an excuse. Not attending the hearing as he lived abroad and with his testimony not taken, Cihan faced a new warrant as part of the new trial while the previous one issued as part of the “Vibrating Ring Trial” was lifted. The next hearing will be held on January 31, 2023 (October 18).

At the hearing held on January 31, 2023, the court ruled that the execution of the warrant issued against Cihan should be awaited. The next hearing will be held on May 4 (January 31). 

Metin Cihan’s trial continued at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance. It was decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant, and the case was adjourned until July 4 (March 5).

The eighth hearing of the case was held on July 4 at the Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance. The court ruled that the execution of the warrant issued against Cihan should be awaited. The hearing was adjourned until November 21 (July 4th).