The imprisonment of Turkish journalist and media executive Hidayet Karaca is one of the starkest examples of how journalism and creative expression have been criminalized. He was arrested not for an investigative report, editorial, or act of violence, but for a fictional television drama. Karaca’s case exposes how judicial systems can be manipulated to silence dissent and reshape the media landscape. His case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) stands as a critical warning for press freedom advocates worldwide.

A Career in Journalism

Hidayet Karaca was born in 1963 in Cankiri, Turkey and he entered journalism in 1994 after completing his education in Istanbul. He rose steadily through the media ranks over the following decades, eventually became General Coordinator of Samanyolu TV and Chief Executive Officer of the Samanyolu Media Group which was one of Turkey’s most influential private media organizations at the time.

The group operated multiple television channels, radio stations, and print publications broadcasting in several languages under his leadership. Samanyolu outlets reached audiences both inside and outside Turkey and became known for adopting a critical stance toward government policy. Karaca’s prominence as a media executive placed him at the centre of Turkey’s public debate under the diminished independent journalism.

Arrest Over a Television Script

Karaca was arrested on 14 December 2014 during a coordinated police operation targeting journalists and media professionals. He was accused of membership in a terrorist organization, despite no allegation that he possessed weapons, used violence, or directed armed activity.

The primary evidence against him was a fictional crime drama named Sefkat Tepe, broadcasted on Samanyolu TV in 2013. Prosecutors argued that a storyline involving a radical group constituted a covert operation designed to manipulate public opinion and justify earlier security actions. So, a television script was treated as criminal evidence!

However, the series had been approved in advance by Turkey’s media regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) and this fact was ignored by the court and the prosecution. Therefore, a fictional narrative reinterpreted as psychological warfare and proof of criminal intent. Later, other accusations such as document forgery or manipulation of investigations were added to his case, but they were not supported by concrete evidence directly linking Karaca to operational acts.

Detention and Punitive Sentences

Karaca spent years in prolonged pre-trial detention, and he was later placed in solitary confinement, where he spent more than eight years. His family repeatedly raised concerns about his health and the psychological toll of extended isolation.

His legal ordeal expanded into multiple trials resulted in a series of extraordinarily severe sentences, including a 31-year prison term and an aggravated life sentence. Although Turkish law limits the effective length of imprisonment, the symbolic weight of these penalties underscored the punitive nature of the prosecutions. In 2024, Turkey’s Supreme Court annulled the aggravated life sentence due to procedural flaws while other convictions remained in force.

On 16 May 2023, Hidayet Karaca’s case reviewed before the European Court of Human Rights. In Karaca v. Turkey (Application No. 20661/15), the Court decided that Turkey had violated Karaca’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court found violations of unlawful detention, excessive pre-trial detention, and lack of effective judicial review under Article 5.

The ECtHR concluded that Karaca’s detention was based largely on speculation and association, not concrete evidence, and that it lasted for more than three years without meaningful judicial scrutiny. Turkey was ordered to pay €18,000 in damages.

An Ongoing Struggle

While the ECtHR ruling acknowledged serious violations of Karaca’s rights, it did not end his imprisonment. He has since filed a second application before the Court challenging the fairness of his conviction under the right to a fair trial. As of 2025, that case remains pending. Karaca has now spent more than 11 years in prison, making him one of Turkey’s longest-detained media figures.

Political Climate and Media Repression

Karaca’s detention occurred during a period of political transformation in Turkey, where executive control and a systematic crackdown on critical voices was increasing. Independent media outlets were closed, seized, or placed under trusteeship, while journalists faced prosecution under broadly defined anti-terror laws.

In the years following Karaca’s arrest, hundreds of journalists were investigated or imprisoned and approximately 200 media outlets were shut down. Turkey’s ranking in global press freedom indices plummeted, reflecting the rapid erosion of protections for free expression. Journalism was no longer treated as a democratic safeguard but as a perceived security threat.

Why His Case Matters

Hidayet Karaca’s imprisonment for a fictional television script is not a legal anomaly, but it is a symbol of how expression can be retroactively criminalized when judicial systems lose independence. When storytelling is treated as terrorism and journalism as treason, democratic safeguards erode rapidly.

Karaca v Turkey is more than a court case. It is a reminder that the freedom to write, broadcast, and imagine is inseparable from the rule of law, and that when those freedoms are suppressed, democracy itself is placed at risk.

BY BEYZA DENIZ