Acquittal for Journalists Reporting Secret Service Bugging

Since 16 October 2008, journalists Gökçer Tahincioğlu from the Milliyet newspaper and Kemal Göktaş from the Vatan newspaper have been on trial for their reporting on the fact the the police directorate, the Turkish secret service (MİT) and the gendarmerie general command had been given the authority to listen in to all phone conversations by court. They stood accused of obtaining secret information and targeting public officials charged with anti-terrorism duties. They faced up to three years imprisonment.

Acquittal and awards

At yesterday’s (31 March) hearing, the Istanbul 9th Heavy Penal Court acquitted the two reporters.

The journalists had reported that the Ankara 11th Heavy Penal Court had given the three security institutions general license to bug phone conversations.

They were awarded the Press Freedom Prize by the Turkish Journalists’ Society (TGC) on 24 July 2008, and will be awarded the Metin Göktepe Journalism Prize on 10 April.

"Even the trial was a threat to press freedom"

Göktaş told bianet that they had been acquitted, saying, “Even the fact that the case went to trial represents a serious threat to press freedom. Of course it is good news that we have been acquitted, but the monitoring of communication in Turkey is continuing.”

He said that court decrees like the one they had reported on had to be overturned by the Ministry of Justice, but that this had not been done. He added that the Supreme Court of Appeals had previously ruled that communication would not be monitored in a way that assumed everyone in Turkey was a potential criminal.”

In an article entitled “A document that will shake up Turkey”, published in the Vatan newspaper on 1 June 2008, Göktaş had reported that the Police General Directorate had taken legal steps to obtain all phone records of companies served by the Telekom in Turkey for the time period of 25 January to 25 April 2007. The Ankara 11th Heavy Penal Court had approved the application by the Chief Public Prosecutor in that case.

Tahincioğlu had reported on the case in the Milliyet newspaper on 2 June 2008, under the heading “Objection to Monitoring”.

Accusations based on two articles of law

The indictment said that, according to Article 334 of the Turkish Penal Code, the two journalists had obtained secret information. Citing Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, they were also accused of targeting public officials on anti-terrorism duty because they named the judge who had given permission for the monitoring of telephone conversations. The indictment asked for three years each imprisonment as well as a fine.

The indictment had further said that the court decree giving monitoring permission to the police, gendarmerie and secret service was classified. (EÖ/AG)