Istanbul- Seven journalists, who were held in pretrial detention for several days in March 2025 for covering protests in Istanbul’s Saraçhane against the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, have been indicted by a Turkish public prosecutor on charges of “opposing the Law on Demonstrations and Marches No. 2911”. The journalists face up to three years in prison.

On March 25, 2025, journalists Yasin Akgül, Ali Onur Tosun, Bülent Kılıç, Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı, Gökhan Kam and Hayri Tunç were detained in raid house raids in Istanbul for covering protests that sparked in Istanbul following the investigation launched into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) and the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. On March 27, they were released from prison after their lawyers objected to their arrest.

Indictment

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has prepared an indictment against the journalists on charges of “opposing the Law on Demonstrations and Marches No. 2911”. The indictment states that the journalists declared that their presence at the protest was within the scope of journalistic activities, but that no evidence could be obtained to verify their statements.

If the indictment is accepted by Istanbul 62nd Criminal Court of First Instance, the trial of the journalists is expected to start in the coming days.