Verdict reached in the Saraçhane trial involving lawyers and journalists

The Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance has acquitted 8 journalists and 4 lawyers who were put on trial for "participating in an unlawful assembly under Law No. 2911" while covering the protests in Saraçhane, ruling that the alleged crime was not proven.

As reported by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the second hearing of the March 19 case regarding the Saraçhane protests was held on November 27, 2025, at the Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The case file is recorded under the docket number 2025/357.

In the case filed against Ali Onur Tosun, Aziz Can Cengiz, Baran Nevcanoğlu, Bülent Kılıç, Deniz Demirdöğen, Emre Orman, Gökhan Kam, Hayri Tunç, Kurtuluş Arı, Mine Erdost, Yasin Akgül, and Zeynep Ceren Kuray for "participating in an assembly contrary to the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No. 2911," the court ruled for the individual acquittal of all defendants, stating that it could not be proven that the alleged act was committed by the defendants.

In its final opinion, the prosecution stated that while it was determined that the defendants were present at the protest site, no evidence was found indicating that they were involved in any act of violence or that they made any calls inciting violence. Furthermore, the prosecution noted that there was no determination that they participated in the demonstration with weapons or objects considered as weapons, and thus expressed an opinion in favor of acquittal.

In its ruling, the court panel stated that the legal elements of the crime alleged under Article 32 of Law No. 2911 were not met. Therefore, based on the grounds that "it was not proven that the charged crime was committed by the defendants," the court issued an acquittal for all defendants under Article 223/2-e of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK) No. 5271.

News Source: 12punto