Ahmet Altan, a renowned novelist and former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Taraf newspaper, was first arrested on 10 September 2016 along with his brother, Mehmet Altan, over alleged links with a network led by exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, which the government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization -- “the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ/PDY)” -- and of staging a failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016.

Altan and his brother were arrested for giving “subliminal messages” in support of the coup attempt during a television program they attended on the shuttered Can Erzincan TV on the night of 14 July 2016. This accusation was later dropped following international backlash. On 21 September 2016, they were questioned by the prosecutor of the case. According to minutes of the interrogation, Altan was charged with “attempting to overthrow the government,” “being a member of an armed terrorist organization” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”

On 22 September 2016, the Istanbul 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ordered Altan's release under judicial control measures and banned him from traveling abroad. His brother Mehmet Altan was jailed pending trial. But on 23 September 2016, Ahmet Altan was rearrested less than 24 hours later, following an objection from the prosecutor. The arrest decision reviewed by P24 claimed that "the Taraf newspaper was founded to implement FETÖ’s goals" and that "its coverage of a series of alleged conspiracies such as Balyoz and Ergenekon cases was an attempt to shape the public opinion in line with instructions." It also claimed that Altan’s comments during the Can Erzincan TV program on 14 July 2016 "indicated that he knew about the coup attempt beforehand" and cited his three columns penned in 2016 as "further evidence that he had attempted to overthrow the government and is a member of FETÖ/PDY."

Altan’s lawyers filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court on 8 November 2016, asserting that his arrest was unlawful. On 12 January 2017, Altan's lawyers filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights, citing lack of action from the Constitutional Court. The European Court of Human Rights responded in February 2017 that although it does not give the application a formal priority treatment under its Rule 41, it will take it up "as soon as possible." In June 2017, the Strasbourg court further said that it had asked the Turkish government to present its defense on applications regarding the pre-trial detentions of seven Turkish journalists: Ahmet and Mehmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Murat Aksoy, Atilla Taş, Şahin Alpay and Ali Bulaç. In a letter to the Altan brothers' lawyers, the court said that it gave the Turkish government until 4 October 2017 to respond to a set of questions about the pre-trial detention of the journalists.

The indictment against Ahmet Altan and 16 others, including his brother, Mehmet Altan, and journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, was issued on 11 April 2017. The indictment charged Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak with "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" under Article 309 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), "attempting to overthrow the Parliament" (TCK 311), "attempting to overthrow the government" (TCK 312) and "committing crimes on behalf of an armed terrorist organization without being its member" (TCK 220/6), seeking three aggravated life imprisonment sentences and an additional prison sentence. State news agency Anadolu announced on 15 June 2017 that the indictment against the 17 suspects had been accepted by the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.

 

The full text of the indictment against Ahmet Altan (in Turkish) can be accessed here.

The full text of the indictment against Altan and other defendants -- in Turkish -- can be accessed here.

 

The first hearing of Ahmet Altan and his co-defendants was held on 19-23 June 2017 at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court. The court ruled for the continaution of the detention of all six jailed defendants and adjourned the trial until 19 September 2017. Ahmet Altan's defense statement, which he presented to court from Silivri Prison via the judicial video-conferencing network SEGBİS can be found here.

At the end of the second hearing, the court ruled to keep all imprisoned defendants, including Altan, behind bars, citing "the gravity of the charges, the length of the prison term the charges carry and flight risk."

The third hearing of the trial was held on 13 November 2017. During the hearing, all four lawyers representing Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan were expelled from the courtroom for trying to speak on procedural issues. The court again decided to keep all imprisoned defendants behind bars. A summary of the hearing is available here.

The fourth hearing was held on 11 December 2017. The prosecutor submitted their final opinion, demanding aggravated life imprisonment sentences for Ahmet Altan and his five co-defendants, including Mehmet Altan, for "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order." Granting a continuance for the final defense statements, the court adjourned the trial until February 2018 and ruled for the continuation of the detention of all imprisoned defendants.

The final hearing of the trial was held on 12-16 February 2018. The first day of the five-day hearing took place at the Istanbul Courthouse but the remaining four sessions were moved to the courtroom in the Silivri Prison complex by a decision of the presiding judge.

Altan made his final defense statement on the second day of the hearing. Altan's statement was interrupted several times by the presiding judge, who warned him regarding the content of his statement. The judge warned Altan that his microphone would be switched off in case he “continued to divert from the prosecutor’s final opinion” and went on to “criticize the president.” In the face of the warning by the judge, Altan had to skip two pages towards the end of his statement.

Click here to read an English translation of Ahmet Altan's full defense statement.

At the end of the five-day hearing, on 16 February 2018, the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court sentenced Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and their three co-defendants to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" and ordered the continuation of their detention on remand.

Regional Court of Justice hearings 

The 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice, an appellate court, accepted the case on 27 June 2018. With that decision, the court ruled to release Mehmet Altan based on an earlier Constitutional Court judgment but decided to keep the rest of the defendants, including Ahmet Altan, in jail.

The first appellate court hearing took take place on 21 September 2018, when all six defendants made their defense statements before the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

After the defense statements, the prosecutor submitted their final opinion, asking the court to uphold the sentences rendered by the trial court. In its interim ruling, the court rejected the five imprisoned defendants' requests to be released and adjourned the case until 2 October 2018 to allow time for the defendants to prepare their final defense statements.

During the appellate court's final hearing on 2 October 2018, all six defendants made their final statements in response to the prosecutor's final opinion.

Ahmet Altan was the last defendant to address the court during the hearing.

“This ugly vaudeville of a trial that began with ‘subliminal messages’ and reached its peak with the prosecutor’s latest accusation of ‘intangible threat’ has shown us the truth we have been facing,” Altan said, adding: “Firstly, that a certain someone is hellbent on our continued imprisonment. Secondly, that it is impossible to keep us in prison through lawful methods. And, that some members of the judiciary can even risk their reputation, or committing crime due to the desperation that is caused by the conflict between the desire to keep us in jail at all costs and the reality of the rule of law.”

“There is not even one substantial evidence in this case file,” Altan continued, adding: “That is why [the prosecution] has been coming up with absurdities like ‘subliminal message,’ ‘immaterial force’ and ‘intangible threat’.”

“I do not mind spending my life in a prison cell because I feel as though I have been wandering among the pages of a comic book. Nothing seems be of gravity or scary,” Altan said. “If you try and reach a guilty verdict based on accusations such as ‘subliminal,’ ‘immaterial force’ or ‘intangible threat’ that verdict loses all its gravity.”

“Can an intangible threat be supported with substantial evidence?” Altan asked, adding that the prosecutor’s final opinion dismissed the Constitutional Court’s Mehmet Altan judgment by way of alleging crime without concrete evidence.

Rendering its judgment at the end of the hearing, the appellate court rejected the appeals against the aggravated life imprisonment sentences and ruled for the continuation of the detention of all imprisoned defendants.

Supreme Court of Appeals ruling

On 8 January 2019, the Office of the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals requested the reversal of the sentences. The General Prosecutor said in their judicial opinion submitted to the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals that Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak should have been charged with “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” instead of the much serious charge of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.”

The judicial opinion asserted that “force and violence” were the essential elements of "coup" charges as described in TCK 309, adding that the concepts of “immaterial force” or “threat” were unacceptable in proving this charge in respect of the principle of legality.

On 5 July 2019, the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned Ahmet Altan's sentence on the charge of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.” The Chamber ruled that Ahmet Altan should face the lesser charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member.”

Retrial

The Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court issued its decision for retrial on 18 July 2019, saying it would take up the case on 8 October 2019. The court rejected the request for Ahmet Altan's release pending trial.

The retrial got underway on 8 October 2019 at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court. At the end of the hearing, the court decided to comply with the Supreme Court of Appeals judgment and to keep the five imprisoned defendants, including Ahmet Altan, in pre-trial detention and adjourned the trial until 4 November 2019.

10.5-year sentence and release 

The second hearing of the retrial took place on 4 November 2019. The Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court sentenced Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” and ruled to release both, taking into consideration the time they spent in pre-trial detention. The court handed down Ahmet Altan a prison sentence of 10 years and 6 months.

Altan was released from the Silivri Prison later on 4 November 2019 as per the court's ruling after spending 1,138 days behind bars as part of the case.

Prosecutor's objection and re-arrest

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office objected to Altan's release on 6 November 2019. The trial court rejected the objection, which was then reviewed by the 27th High Criminal Court, which was authorized to review decisions by the 26th High Criminal Court. Accepting the prosecutor's objection, the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court ruled on 12 November 2019 for Altan's re-arrest on the grounds that “the judicial control measures imposed on him” remained “insufficient considering flight risk … the intensity of his actions, the duration of the prison sentence he was given, the time he spent in detention on remand … as well as his conduct following his release.” The court did not notify Altan's lawyer Figen Çalıkuşu of the ruling. News of the ruling and the arrest warrant against Altan were first made public by the pro-government Sabah daily.

Altan was re-arrested at around 9 p.m. on 12 November 2019 at his Istanbul home, several hours after the 27th High Criminal Court issued a warrant for Altan as it revoked the 26th High Criminal Court’s order for his release. He was taken to the Istanbul Police Department, where he remained in custody until the next day. On 13 November, Altan appeared before the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court, where he was informed about the decision for his re-arrest.

Altan was sent back to the Silivri Prison on 13 November 2019, only eight days after his release pending appeal.

Constitutional Court application

Altan’s lawyers filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court against his imprisonment pending trial on 8 November 2016. Two months later, on 12 January 2017, the lawyers took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, citing lack of action from the Constitutional Court.

On 4 July 2018, the Constitutional Court's First Section reviewed Altan's individual application concerning admissibility and merits. The section then referred Altan's application to the Plenary.

On 26 April 2019, the Constitutional Court announced that its Plenary would finally take up Altan's individual application, along with those filed on behalf of nine other journalists, including his co-defendant Nazlı Ilıcak, on 2 May 2019.

Rendering its judgment on 3 May, the Plenary rejected Altan's application, finding no rights violations in his file. The court also rejected the application of Nazlı Ilıcak, Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case. The court rendered all decisions, except for the one concerning Ilıcak’s file, through a majority vote.

The Constitutional Court’s Plenary issued the judgments concerning its 3 May 2019 decisions on 26 June 2019 on its official website. The judgments concerning the rejected applications said, in a nutshell, that “the assessments made by the investigation authorities and the decisions rendered by the courts that ruled for [the journalists’] arrests could not be deemed as ‘arbitrary and baseless’.”

In Ahmet Altan’s application, the President of the Constitutional Court Zühtü Arslan, Vice President Engin Yıldırım and three other justices disagreed with the majority opinion. All five judges were of the opinion that Altan’s arrest violated his rights to liberty and security and freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

European Court of Human Rights judgment

On 13 April 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued its judgment concerning Ahmet Altan's application, which had been pending before the Court since January 2017.

The Strasbourg court found multiple violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in Altan’s case, including the right to liberty and security (5/1), freedom of expression (10), and the right to have the lawfulness of his detention decided speedily by court (5/4). The court ruled that Turkey should pay Altan 16,000 euros in compensation.

 

Click here for the full text of the ECtHR's Ahmet Altan judgment.

Release by Supreme Court of Appeals decision

Ahmet Altan was released from the Silivri Prison on 14 April 2021 based on a decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals after spending 4 years and 7 months behind bars as part of the “Altans trial.”

Citing the trial court’s failure to apply the reductions prescribed by the law in the sentence given to Altan in the retrial in 2019, the Supreme Court of Appeals quashed Altan's 10.5-year sentence on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” (Article 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code) and ordered his release. The Court’s decision was made public by the state-run Anadolu Agency. The Supreme Court of Appeals also ruled on 14 April 2021 to uphold the sentences of Yazıcı, Şimşek and Özşengül.

On 29 April 2021, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals demanded the lifting of the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruling dated 14 April 2021 and the overturning of Yazıcı, Şimşek and Özşengül’s convictions.

On 8 December 2022, the Supreme Court of Appeals Assembly of Criminal Chambers overturned the convictions of Özşengül, Yazıcı and Şimşek and remanded the case file to the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court for a retrial. The trial court issued a preliminary proceedings report in line with the Supreme Court of Appeals ruling on 2 March 2023. The court separated the file against Özşengül, who died of a heart attack in Silivri Prison on 30 July 2022.

Second retrial 

The first hearing in the retrial of Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Fevzi Yazıcı and Yakup Şimşek was held at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 13 June 2023. P24 monitored the hearing, attended by Ilıcak, Şimşek and Yazıcı and defense lawyers. The court ruled unanimously to abide by the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision to overturn.

The second hearing in the retrial was held on 26 October 2023. Rejecting Yazıcı’s request for an expert report, the court ruled to send the case file to the prosecutor’s office for the final opinion to be drafted. The trial was adjourned until 14 February 2024.

The prosecutor submitted their final opinion to the court on 18 January 2024, requesting sentencing for Altan, Ilıcak and Yazıcı on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” under Article 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and Şimşek’s acquittal of the “membership in a terrorist organization” (TCK 314/2) charge. 

The prosecutor cited Altan’s work as one of the executives of the now-defunct Taraf newspaper; his articles published on the news portal haberdar.com; four articles he wrote in 2015 and 2016; the allegation that “according to phone records, he was in contact with the senior members [of FETÖ/PDY]”; and his appearance as a commentator along with Nazlı Ilıcak and Mehmet Altan on the political discussion show that aired on Can Erzincan TV on the night of 14 July 2016 as evidence for the charge.

The final hearing of the retrial was held on 14 February 2024. P24 monitored the hearing, which was attended by Ilıcak, Yazıcı, Şimşek, and the lawyers representing all four defendants.

Ruling in line with the final opinion, the court sentenced Altan to 6 years, 3 months and 18 days, Ilıcak to 5 years and 3 months, and Yazıcı to 1 year and 13 months in prison on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” and acquitted Şimşek of “membership in a terrorist organization.” The court ruled for the continuation of the judicial control measures imposed on Altan and Ilıcak.

"Propaganda" and "insult" trials

Altan was also charged with "terrorism propaganda" and "insulting the president" in a separate case. The charges stemmed from an article Altan wrote in 2016, titled "Ezip Geçmek," which is also held among evidence against him in the "coup" trial.

The full text of the indictment (in Turkish) can be accessed here.

The first hearing of this trial was held on 5 December 2017. Altan presented his defense statement during the hearing. At the second hearing, held on 4 January 2018, the prosecutor submitted his final opinion, demanding prison sentences for Altan on charges of “insulting the president” and "spreading propaganda for the terrorist organization (PKK)” through several expressions in Altan’s column. The Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court sentenced Altan to 5 years and 11 months in prison on the charges of "terrorism propaganda" and "insulting the president" at the final hearing of this case, held on 28 February 2018. In his defense statement to the court, Altan asserted that he was put on trial twice for the same article.

On 19 March 2019, Altan was given another prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days on the charge of "insulting the president" in a separate case where the accusation stemmed from a 2016 article titled "Yeni Ergenekon," that was published on P24’s website. The Istanbul 30th Criminal Court of First Instance commuted the sentence to a judicial fine of TL 7,000.

Click here to read Ahmet Altan’s answers to our questionnaire about prison conditions.