A Turkish court on Tuesday acquitted five journalists from the opposition-aligned Halk TV, including Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş, who was released after spending 34 days in pretrial detention on charges of unlawfully recording and broadcasting a conversation with a court-appointed expert witness, Deutsche Welle’s Turkish edition reported on Tuesday.
The 54th Criminal Court of First Instance ruled that Toktaş, along with Responsible Manager Serhan Asker, Programs Coordinator Kürşad Oğuz, Program Host Barış Pehlivan and Anchor Seda Selek, had not committed the alleged crime of “attempting to influence judicial officials” and acquitted the defendants. The court also ruled that a separate charge of “recording and publishing non-public conversations” must go through mediation before proceeding. While lifting judicial supervision measures such as mandatory weekly check-ins, the court maintained international travel bans for the five journalists.
The case stemmed from Halk TV’s broadcast of a phone conversation involving an expert witness linked to ongoing legal proceedings concerning opposition-run municipalities, particularly those governed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). The investigation into the journalists followed criticism from Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key opposition figure, who accused the expert of bias and claimed the government was using the judiciary to target opposition-held municipalities.
The trial drew widespread attention, with representatives from press organizations, opposition politicians, and the European Union Delegation to Turkey attending the hearing. Outside the courthouse security was tightened with police barricades due to heightened public interest in the case.
Toktaş had been arrested in January, while four other Halk TV journalists were placed under judicial supervision, facing potential prison sentences ranging from four to 14 years. Press freedom advocates, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the charges as politically motivated, calling for an end to judicial harassment against the independent media.
Turkey ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, with critics accusing the government of using the judiciary to suppress opposition voices.