A Turkish court on Tuesday sentenced three journalists over remarks made on a television program, convicting them on charges of spreading disinformation and violating confidentiality, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported.
The case concerned comments aired on the “Kayda Geçsin” (Let It Be on the Record) program on pro-opposition Halk TV in October 2024, in which the defendants discussed allegations of gold smuggling through Istanbul Airport’s VIP section as well as Turkey’s continued exports to Israel during the war in Gaza and members of the judiciary.
The Bakırköy 34th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Timur Soykan to 10 months in prison for violation of confidentiality, with the sentence suspended, while Barış Pehlivan and Murat Ağırel were each sentenced to one year, three months in prison for publicly disseminating misleading information. Şule Aydın was acquitted.
Prosecutors had also accused the journalists of denigrating religious values, citing their critical remarks about Islamists, but the court acquitted them of those charges. The ruling is subject to appeal.
Journalists in Turkey critical of the government or allied political parties have faced increasing scrutiny under laws criminalizing “disinformation,” “insulting public officials” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda.” Dozens of reporters remain in prison, and many more are the subjects of ongoing investigations.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 26 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.
