The Tahşiye Trials: Liberty and the Right to a Fair Trial
SRL Swiss examines the Tahşiye proceedings through court judgments, hearing records and technical documents, identifying serious concerns about judicial impartiality, individual criminal responsibility and the defence’s ability to challenge evidence.
Tahşiye is a religious group led by Mehmet Doğan. Following a police operation in January 2010, members were prosecuted for organisation-related and weapons offences. In 2014, while those proceedings were continuing, investigating police officers and certain media professionals themselves became the subject of proceedings alleging false accusation, fabrication of evidence and organisation-related offences. The report examines liberty and fair-trial safeguards in this second process.
Hearing records and effective defence
The report compares official hearing minutes with existing recording transcripts. It identifies discrepancies concerning counsel’s attendance, notification of rights and whether a defence on the merits had actually been presented. Accusatory questioning and responses to requests for judicial disqualification raise serious concerns about the appearance of impartiality.
Three accounts of the ammunition’s origin
The 2017 and 2022 judgments contain different accounts of how grenades reached an address: direct placement by police, placement under police supervision, and placement through a member of the group. The report calls for an explanation of how these accounts are reconciled and what specific conduct and knowledge are established for each defendant. The destruction of the ammunition and unmet requests to hear those responsible are examined as issues affecting the right to challenge evidence.
Digital evidence and individual responsibility
Institutional correspondence reveals questions about the matching of telephone subscriptions, devices and two ByLock accounts attributed to one defendant. The report distinguishes documented technical discrepancies from assertions made in defence submissions. It calls for disclosure of underlying records, reasoned responses to substantial objections and independent technical examination where necessary.
Judicial independence and detention
The report considers the detention of judges Metin Özçelik and Mustafa Başer following disqualification and release decisions alongside the appointment of Hasan Yılmaz and Akın Gürlek to senior executive positions. It assesses these developments together with contemporaneous public statements and documented courtroom conduct.
On detention, the report preserves the distinction in the European Court of Human Rights’ Karaca judgment: the Court found no violation concerning reasonable suspicion at initial detention, but found violations concerning subsequent detention decisions and other review safeguards. The report also addresses the Court of Cassation’s 2025 affirmance and the prosecution’s counterarguments.
Recommendations
SRL Swiss calls for discrepancies in hearing records to be resolved against original recordings; independent scrutiny of technical evidence; clarification of the competing ammunition accounts; and individualised findings on criminal responsibility and detention. It invites the competent Turkish authorities and UN, OSCE and Council of Europe mechanisms to act within their mandates.
Report dated 31 October 2026. The documentary basis comprises 42 annexes, including indictments, judgments, institutional correspondence, hearing documents and defence applications. Documentary findings, defence allegations and legal assessments are distinguished.
Full report
Read or download the full report in English (PDF)