The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued a significant ruling covering a total of 893 applicants in three cases titled Kılıçarslan, Çalı and Dönmez. The court found that the applicants – including journalists who are members of the International Journalists Association (IJA) – had their right to a fair trial and the principle of “no punishment without law” violated.
Among those covered by the ruling are four journalists: Özcan Keser, Muhsin Gün, Hasan Basri Erden and Cevdet İnan. The ECHR found that their convictions were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling is seen as significant because it constitutes international judicial recognition of rights violations that have long been alleged. However, it does not mean that the harm suffered by the applicants has been fully remedied.
Journalists spent years in prison
One of the journalists covered by the ruling, Özcan Keser, was dismissed from his position as a reporter at TRT during the state of emergency declared in 2016. Although he voluntarily appeared before authorities to give a statement, he was arrested. Keser remained in prison for nearly a year without being informed of the charges against him and was later sentenced to nine years in prison. In total, he spent six years in different prisons.
Similarly, journalist Muhsin Gün, who worked for Bugün, TRT and Habertürk, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison and spent approximately four years and eight months behind bars. Hasan Basri Erden, who worked for Cihan News Agency and TRT, received a sentence of seven years and six months and remained in pretrial detention for 16 months. Cevdet İnan, who worked at various bureaus of the now-closed Zaman newspaper, was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison and spent five years and three months in different prisons.
The ECHR concluded that the proceedings in these cases were not fair and that the legal basis for the charges was insufficient.
“There is no remedy for what we endured”
Following the ruling, journalist Özcan Keser said the judgment was important but insufficient to remedy the harm suffered.
“There is no compensation for the imprisonment we endured, the suffering we experienced, or what our families went through. Even so, this decision is a consolation. We will be retried; perhaps by then the rule of law will have returned to our country.”
Important ruling, but consequences remain
Although the ECHR ruling is regarded as an important legal victory, it is unlikely to fully compensate for the years of imprisonment, professional losses and the severe impact on the applicants’ families. Such judgments are considered significant not only because they establish that rights violations occurred, but also because they may pave the way for retrials.
Earlier this month, the ECHR also ruled that Turkey had violated the rights of journalist Tuncer Çetinkaya. In that case, the court found that the former Zaman newspaper, Cihan News Agency and Anadolu Agency journalist had suffered violations of both his right to liberty and security and his right to freedom of expression.