Sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for “membership of a terrorist organization” in 2018, 31-year old journalist Cihan Acar is behind the bars once again after the confirmation of his penalty by the supreme court. According to the information given by his lawyer, Acar surrendered to Edirne Prison on June 23, 2020. Acar, who has an active journalism life for 3.5 years, will remain in prison for the same amount of time of his profession.
FIRST RELEASED THEN ARRESTED
Arrested on 29 July 2016, Acar was released by the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court at the first hearing on 31 March 2017. Due to an appeal against his release, Acar was arrested again at the exit of the prison.
LEFT IN THE PRISON FOR 13 MONTHS
At the first hearing of the lawsuit filed against the alleged coup d’état on 18 August 2017, the court decided to combine this file with the ongoing “media structuring case” and released Acar along with a ban on abroad. In total, Acar had been in prison for about 13 months.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HAS DECIDED COMPENSATION
Acar’s lawyers Mustafa Söğütlü and Gülşah Kaya were applied to the constitutional court for alleged violations of his right to respect for family life, his lack of advocate assistance and his right to a fair trial due to the detention and detention measures applied to their clients on 22 May 2017 were not legal and the access to the investigation file was restricted, the right to personal security, journalism activities were blocked, the freedom of the press and the search warrant were against the law. The First Section of the Constitutional Court, which examined the application in February 2020, ruled that it was a rights violation of Acar’s subsequent “coup” charge and that he was awarded 30 thousand TL in non-pecuniary damage.