The fourth hearing of the trial against T24 writer Tolga Şardan, who faces up to five years in prison on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information to the public” and “publicly insulting the state’s judicial organs,” was held on November 20 at the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. Şardan did not attend the hearing. His lawyers stated that the HSK investigation into the judge mentioned in the article had been completed and the file had been sent to the Court of Cassation, requesting that the relevant file be submitted to the court. The court accepted the request and postponed the hearing until April 30.
Şardan was arrested on November 1, 2023, as part of an investigation launched following an article titled “MİT’s judicial report submitted to the Presidency,” and was released from Silivri Prison five days later. Speaking at the hearing, lawyer Özlem Günel Tekşen said that her client had informed the public and that the elements of the disinformation charge had not been established. Lawyer Mustafa Gökhan Tekşen stated that the file of the judge mentioned in the article was at the Court of Appeals and that this file would contribute to the ongoing case, requesting the court to summon the file. The court ruled that the file should be requested from the Court of Appeals.
November 20, 2025
T24