The İstanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance put journalist Rüstem Batum on trial on the grounds that he protested the violations of rights in Turkey’s southeast, mentioned the effects of the economic crisis on citizens and “aggressive” foreign policy and criticized President of the Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to whom Qatar gave a plane, on his Twitter account in the period of 2017-2019. Demanding prison sentence for the journalist on charge of “provoking the public to hatred and hostility” and filed on June 17, 2019, the court case is awaiting the execution of the warrant which was issued against Batum on October 19, 2018. The trial will be held on January 20, 2022 (September 21).