18 people were charged at Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No 14 in connection with the journalist's assassination.[81] Since the main suspect, Ogün Samast, was younger than 18, the hearing was not public. Reportedly the defendants Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel repeated their testimonies given to the security forces and prosecutor. The court decided to release the defendants Osman Altay, Irfan Özkan, Salih Hacisalihoglu and Veysel Toprak to be tried without remand and adjourned the hearing to 1 October.