Trial of ‘insulting’ TC journalist postponed

The trial of Turkish Cypriot journalist Ali Kismir, who faces 10 years in prison for “insulting” the Turkish Cypriot armed forces, was postponed in court on Friday.

The court ordered adjourned the case until October 27 and ordered Kismir to sign a 30,000TL (€1,029) guarantee that he would be present at the next hearing.

“We understand they will request in court papers to transfer the case to the High criminal court. The relevant witnesses will be heard at the Nicosia district court, and as a result, the court will follow a procedure to decide whether to transfer the case to the High criminal court or not,” Kismir’s lawyer Hasan Esendagli said after the court session.

He added that the case “has no legal basis” and said he wants it to be withdrawn. He said he told the court he intends to have a meeting with the prosecutor’s office “on this basis”.

“For us, this is a case which directly targets freedom of expression, thought, and press. It’s a cause which needs to be tackled head on,” he added.

He said, “this is a matter for the judiciary, the final decision will be made by the judiciary. I think there is nothing to worry about.”

Kismir stands accused of “insulting and defaming the morality of the TRNC Security forces command,” an accusation which dates back to a post he wrote on Facebook in August 2020.

In the post, he likened the headquarters of the ‘TRNC Security forces command’ to a “brothel”.