Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Muhammed Enes Sezgin and JinNews reporter Sena Dolar had their first hearing in the trial where they were charged with “violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” on the grounds of the press statements that they had followed.

38 defendants, apart from Sezgin and Dolar, were facing charges in the trial. The hearing held at the Büyükçekmece 10th Criminal Court of First Instance on March 31, 2022 was not attended by the defendants and their lawyers, who offered excuses.

The court ruled that a writ should be written to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to move the hearing to a courtroom affiliated with the Silivri Open Penal Institution on the grounds that the current courtroom did not have the capacity to hold 40 defendants. The next hearing will be held on September 29 (March 31).

At the hearing held on September 29, 2022, the defense statements were heard. The court ruled that the persons who had given their statements of defense should be exempted from the hearings and an SMS should be sent to the persons who had not made their defense, indicating that a warrant would be issued against them if they failed to be present at the next hearing. The next hearing will be held on February 10, 2023 (September 29).