Journalist Oğuz Bakır has been acquitted of charges stemming from a social media post referencing a prosecutor who kept a model of the infamous “White Toros” vehicle in his office—an image widely associated with extrajudicial killings and disappearances in Turkey during the conflct in the 1990s in the country’s Kurdish regions.
The second hearing of Bakır’s trial was held today at the İstanbul 34th Penal Court of First Instance, P24 reported. He was facing charges of “publicly insulting a public official due to their duty.”
Bakır did not attend the hearing, but his lawyer Hasan Basri Şen was present, along with a lawyer representing prosecutor Cahit Cihad Sarı, who was listed as the complainant in the indictment.
Presenting their final opinion on the case, the public prosecutor argued that Bakır’s post included “derogatory language” that exceeded the limits of free expression. The statement claimed that the content was not an opinion but rather aimed to harm Sarı’s personal dignity, and requested Bakır’s conviction.
The complainant’s lawyer echoed the prosecutor, stating that their client’s complaint remained in effect and called for Bakır to be punished.
Responding to the charges, defense lawyer Hasan Basri Şen said, “As we have maintained in our previous written and oral defenses, it is clear that our client did not commit the alleged offense. We request his acquittal and the return of his confiscated digital materials.”
The court ruled in favor of Bakır, stating that the legal elements of the alleged offense had not been established. It also ordered that the seized digital materials be returned.
Background
The case was linked to political tensions in Jul 2025. On the day İstanbul’s suspended mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to one year and seven months in prison for allegedly threatening then-Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel publicly identified prosecutor Cahit Cihad Sarı.
Following Özel’s remarks, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into him. Bakır, reporting on the investigation, shared the news with the following post:
“A direct investigation has been launched into CHP Chair Özgür Özel for allegedly ‘publicly insulting a public official due to their duty’ and ‘making threats’ over his comments about the prosecutor handling the corruption probe into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. In addition, social media posts made after Özel’s remarks are also being investigated.”
Bakır was subsequently detained and placed under house arrest by court order.
Later, prosecutor Sarı requested that news reports about him be blocked from public access. Following a court ruling, bianet removed its article titled “Journalist Oğuz Bakır placed under house arrest over ‘White Toros model prosecutor’ post.”
(HA/VK)
Source: BIANET
