A criminal case has been filed against two journalists from daily Cumhuriyet over a news report on the 2015 Ankara Massacre, where 103 people died after a suicide bomb attack by ISIS.
According to the report published on November 22, 2019, on the newspaper’s front page, the police in the southeastern Antep province did not act despite receiving a tip on two ISIS members who were involved in the attack.
Alican Uludağ, the reporter who wrote the article, and Olcay Büyüktaş, the newspaper’s managing editor responsible for legal affairs, have been charged with “disclosing the identity of an informant” according to Article 6/3 of the Anti-Terror Law and are facing up to three years in prison.
The first hearing of the case was held at the İstanbul 32nd High Criminal Court on October 22, 2020. Following the identity check, Uludağ made his defense and rejected the charges. Indicating that his news report cannot be a subject matter of criminal proceedings, Uludağ said that the news should be considered within freedom of press and demanded his acquittal. Akça also said that there was no crime or intention other than informing the public and demanded her acquittal as well.
Making defense after the journalists, the attorney of Akça and Uludağ said that the charges in question were filed over a news report.
Following the defenses, the court board has ruled that the deficiencies in the case file shall be rectified. The next hearing will be held on January 12, 2021 (October 22).
At the second hearing held on January 12, 2021, Alican Uludağ requested his acquittal and declared that he did not want the pronouncement of the verdict to be deferred if he was penalized at the end of the trial. Attorney Buket Yazıcı requested that the deficiencies in the file be rectified. Olcay Büyüktaş Akça did not attend the hearing.
The court board has adjourned the hearing until March 16 so that the deficiencies in the file can be rectified (January 12).
At the hearing held on March 16, 2021, the court board announced that the indictment previously requested from the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court regarding the October 10 Ankara massacre case was added to the case file. The board ruled that the file be examined between the hearings. The next hearing will be held on June 15 (March 16).
At the final hearing held on June 15, 2021, the İstanbul 32nd High Criminal Court ruled that Olcay Büyüktaş Akça and Alican Uludağ, who were facing one year to three years in prison, should be acquitted on the grounds that “the elements of the offense charged had not been constituted” (June 15).
