{"id":3615,"date":"2025-11-27T20:58:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3615"},"modified":"2025-11-27T20:58:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:58:35","slug":"four-journalists-on-trial-over-istanbul-protest-coverage-acquitted-freedom-of-the-press-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=3615","title":{"rendered":"Four journalists on trial over Istanbul protest coverage acquitted | Freedom of the Press News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Photographer Yasin Akgul says he will continue on his path \u2018with even more reporting\u2019 following his acquittal.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 27 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">27 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A Turkish court has acquitted four journalists accused of taking part in an allegedly unlawful demonstration they were covering in Istanbul earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling was issued on Thursday morning after the court found no evidence that the media workers \u2013 a photographer with the AFP news agency and three local journalists \u2013 had committed any offence, according to AFP and local media reports.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Those cleared are AFP\u2019s Yasin Akgul, Ali Onur Tosun of Turkish broadcaster NOW Haber and freelancers Bulent Kilic and Zeynep Kuray.<\/p>\n<p>Turkiye\u2019s Hurriyet Daily News reported three other journalists had also been acquitted.<\/p>\n<p>The reporters were arrested in March amid a mass protest movement triggered by the arrest of Istanbul\u2019s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish government has rejected accusations of political interference, insisting the judiciary acts independently.<\/p>\n<p>They, along with thousands of protesters, had been accused of violating Turkiye\u2019s Law 2911 on meetings and demonstrations \u2013 a measure rights groups say is used to curb peaceful assembly.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of Law 2911 say that it is necessary for public order to regulate all protests and assemblies. They cite its legal basis for dispersing gatherings that impede public movement or violate security instructions.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"journalists-must-be-allowed-to-work-unhindered\">\u2018Journalists must be allowed to work unhindered\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>AFP, which had repeatedly called for Akgul\u2019s acquittal, hailed the court decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAFP welcomes the acquittal of Yasin Akgul and his colleagues. This case against photographers doing their job on the streets of Istanbul should never have been brought,\u201d Phil Chetwynd, AFP\u2019s global news director, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJournalists must be allowed to cover demonstrations and protests unhindered,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also welcomed the decision in a case it has described as \u201cunlawful\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>AFP\u2019s Akgul said the decision was expected even though it came late. \u201cNow that the psychological strain of the trial process and my difficulty in focusing are gone, I will continue on my path with even more reporting,\u201d he told AFP after the verdict. \u201cThe right decision has been made. I hope that other journalists who are still inside will also be freed as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photographer Yasin Akgul says he will continue on his path \u2018with even more reporting\u2019 following his acquittal. Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A Turkish court has acquitted four journalists accused of taking part in an allegedly unlawful demonstration they were covering in Istanbul earlier [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}