The trial of BirGün writer Zafer Arapkirli has been postponed

Deniz Güngör

BirGün writer and host of the Medyaterapi programme, Zafer Arapkirli, appeared before the judge today in a case where he is accused of ‘insulting the President’.

The first hearing of the case, which was opened following a report made on social media by Turkey Newspaper writer Cem Küçük, was held at the 60th Criminal Court of First Instance in Çağlayan, İstanbul.

The hearing was attended by İstanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu, TGC Secretary General Sibel Güneş, the Turkish Journalists' Union, former CHP MP Kadir Gökmen Öğüt, and many journalists and lawyers.

The hearing was postponed until 10:50 a.m. on 13 January 2026. The court accepted the Presidency's request to join the case but rejected the request by Arapkirli's lawyers to write a memorandum to the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

THERE IS NO CRIME

The hearing began with the identification of those present. In his defence during the hearing, Arapkirli stated, "First of all, it is necessary to emphasise and remind everyone once again, as it is already common knowledge: This is a trial based on a report and a complaint. However, there is no crime. We can only speak of a political trial and, as with every political trial, an attempt to silence and intimidate.

There is an attempt to score points by treating the report, or rather the slander, of a regime supporter, a minor informant who feeds off the regime, as an “assist”.

Let me say this: I am 68 years old and have 48 years of professional experience in journalism. That is nearly half a century. I have always lived fighting against the established order, oppressive regimes, and anti-democratic practices. Since I was almost 18 years old, I have fought against such administrations without fear and without any concern," he said.

‘Those who know me know... My life record, my personality is out in the open,’ said Arapkirli, "My revolutionary inspiration comes from the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, my determination to fight against exploitation, imperialism and fascism comes from the tradition of Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan, Mahir Çayan, Cihan Alptekin, Sinan Cemgil, and the tradition of hundreds of brave comrades who fought shoulder to shoulder with me in my youth and are now buried in the ground.

With this quality, I openly criticise today's government, the leader of the ruling political party, and President Recep Bey, without fear. The miraculous reason I am forced to defend myself from this defendant's stand is a pathetic, pitiful accusation made by a tiny regime supporter and informant: 'Sir, this message written by Zafer Arapkirli is an insult to our President. Take the necessary action' is a pitiful, pathetic denunciation. What's even more painful is that the man is practically giving orders to the prosecutor's office and the courts, without shame.

On whose behalf? I don't know. Moreover, he is sitting comfortably in the lap of power, shamelessly hurling insults at me, calling me a “coward”... And, without realising it, he himself attributes the phrase “bad scriptwriter” in the post to President Recep Bey... Moreover, he said, ‘Even if someone else were to use the phrase “You are a bad screenwriter” mentioned in the Twitter post that is the subject of the case, even if they were to use it in reference to President Recep Bey, it would not constitute a crime. Even a first-year law student in their first semester could appreciate this, let alone a prosecutor or judge."

MY PLACE IS IN THE STUDIO

Arapkirli concluded by saying: "This defendant's bench should be occupied by the real criminals, but I am occupying it. Here are those who brought the Republic of Turkey to this state, those who ruined the country's economy, those who drove people into poverty and hunger, those whose incompetence set education back at least 100 years and healthcare at least 50 years, those who are truly criminals: thieves, swindlers, rapists, female murderers, gangs of robbers, child abusers, those who employ children in workplaces and send them to their deaths, those who marry off girls at a very young age, and the scourge of sects and communities that have sworn to take the country back 1000 years. For example, shouldn't prosecutors find the murderers who recently beat my colleague, Hakan Tosun, to death in the middle of the street and bring them to this dock? Shouldn't the real killers of Berkin Elvan, Ali İsmail Korkmaz, Rabia Naz Vatan, Oğuz Arda Sel, and Rojin Kabaiş, the real perpetrators behind these murders, be here? Why am I here while they are not? In short, when there is no crime, not even a hint of a crime, it is not right to put me on trial here because of a little informant who confessed on television just the other day, saying, “So what? People tell lies sometimes”. It is precisely because we criticise these things that we are here in the dock before the court.

Let us go and do our job. My place is at my desk in the studio. Not here.

As I said at the outset, this is not a trial for a “crime of insult”, it is a “political” trial. It is an attempt to silence and intimidate an opposition journalist, an independent journalist.

I deny the alleged crime. I demand my acquittal and respectfully submit to the honourable court."

‘THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE HAS BEEN VIOLATED’

In his defence, lawyer Deniz Yazgan stated, "We are faced with an indictment that should be returned. We see that the presumption of innocence has been violated. Even if the tweet in question had been addressed to the President, the words of a “bad screenwriter” would not constitute the offence of insult. It is also clear that it does not constitute the offence of insulting the President. In this context, we request the acquittal of my client."

‘THIS CRIMINAL PROVISION SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED’

In his defence at the hearing, İstanbul Bar Association President Kaboğlu stated:

“First, we must approach this issue from the perspective of the offence of insulting the President. It is important to recall the pilot judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on this offence. This criminal provision was written during a period when Turkey had a parliamentary system.

At that time, the President was elected by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The government was a political body accountable to the Grand National Assembly and representing day-to-day politics. The President had a status representing the nation, above politics. This criminal provision truly reflects a regulation providing special protection to a person with a role as an arbiter above politics.

In the 2017 constitutional amendment, the Council of Ministers and the Government were abolished, and the powers of the President and all the powers of the Government were concentrated in one person.

The President, who holds both the powers of the head of state and the Government, has also become the leader of a political party. In this context, the position of the President is more that of the leader of a political party than that of the head of state, and even more so than that of the head of government. From this perspective, the status and purpose envisaged by this criminal provision have ceased to exist after 2017.

NOTE FROM THE FILE: “THE CRIME IS VERY FORCED”

Kemal Aytaç said:

“Millions of things are written on Twitter. However, the prosecution took Arapkirli's tweet and prepared an indictment for insulting the President, and the court accepted it without questioning what was in it.

I really wonder about their mentality. Can such a case be brought? How can we trust the prosecutor and the court in this country? When this case was opened, Zafer Bey said, “A case has been opened against me,” so I asked Lawyer Deniz Yazgan for help. And when our friend went, there was a note in the file that said, “What should we do? The charge is very far-fetched. Should we take a statement?”

Another note said, “Statement at the police station”. One madman throws a stone into a well, and a thousand wise men try to get it out. That is exactly what we are doing right now. But if we create such a tradition, what courage will citizens have to exercise their freedom of expression? For this reason, we demand an immediate acquittal.

The Presidency has requested to join the case. We do not accept this request. The plaintiff has not suffered any damage. Therefore, we request that the request to join the case be rejected."

Following the defence, the hearing was postponed to 10:50 a.m. on 13 January 2026.

The court accepted the Presidency's request to join the case but rejected the request by Arapkirli's lawyers to write a memorandum to the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

The investigation was launched after pro-government Turkey Newspaper writer Cem Küçük targeted a post made by Arapkirli on his X account on 23 October 2024. The subject of the case against Arapkirli was a post he made on X on 23 October 2024: "YOU ARE A VERY BAD SCREENWRITER... You always have been” on X on 23 October 2024. Küçük quoted the post in question, accusing Arapkirli of targeting the President and calling on the Prosecutor’s Office to take action, stating, “Our security and judiciary must do what is necessary for this person.”

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled BirGün yazarı Zafer Arapkirli'nin yargılandığı dava ertelendi, published in BirGün newspaper on November 25, 2025.