Journalist Nazlı Ilıcak has returned to prison

Journalist Nazlı Ilıcak was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison for "slander" in a case heard at the Istanbul 15th Criminal Court of First Instance, following a complaint by public prosecutor Orhan Kapıcı regarding an article she wrote in 2016. Ilıcak entered prison today after the sentence was upheld by the appellate court.

SURRENDERED TO PRISON

According to the report by Sibel Yükler from T24, Ilıcak went to the Hendek Women's Open Penal Institution today with her lawyer, Kemal Ertuğ Derin, after the sentence was upheld. However, she was informed that she could not stay in an open prison because she is currently under supervised release due to a sentence she received for "espionage." Consequently, Ilıcak surrendered to the Sakarya No. 1 Prison.

"SHE IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN A CLOSED PRISON FOR ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS"

Lawyer Kemal Ertuğ Derin stated, "Ms. Nazlı received a 2-year, 6-month prison sentence in a case tried between 2021 and 2022 due to an article she wrote about Orhan Kapıcı in 2016. When the sentence was upheld by the appellate court, she surrendered to prison today. Normally, she should have been admitted to an open prison. However, because her supervised release for the 'espionage' charge is still ongoing, she was placed in a closed prison; she is expected to remain in the closed prison for about 2-3 weeks. Afterward, she will transfer to an open prison and be released under supervised probation," he said.

Derin added, "Normally, this crime does not carry actual prison time, but because she has supervised release for another crime, this happened. We were told to go to the Hendek Women's Open and Closed Prison, and we went to the prison in Hendek with her today; she was supposed to stay for 2-3 days and then be released. However, they later told us, 'You were referred incorrectly, you have supervised release.' While we thought we would enter the open prison, they took her to the closed one. She is currently at the Sakarya No. 1 Prison," he said.

WHAT HAPPENED?

An indictment was prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Nazlı Ilıcak due to an article titled "Hanefi Avcı's Expectation of an Operation," published on June 16, 2016, on the now-defunct website Özgür Düşünce. The indictment charged Ilıcak with "slander." In the article in question, it was mentioned that she referred to a "national vein organization" and that a complaint had been filed with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office by former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı regarding said organization. The indictment alleged that by making the article the subject of a complaint, and based on the content of the article, "the names of public officials shown as members of an organization under investigation were clearly stated, and unlawful acts were attributed to them."

The case, which was opened in 2021 at the Istanbul 15th Criminal Court of First Instance, was concluded at the hearing on April 19, 2022. Ilıcak was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison. The decision was later upheld by the appellate court.