Dutch Journalist Charged With “PKK Propaganda”
A prosecution has been launched on Frederike Geerdink, a Dutch journalist based in Diyarbakır who was detained and released by the police on January 6 for her tweets.
Charged with “PKK propaganda” according to Anti-Terror Act Article 7/2, a controversial law active since 1991, Geerdink is facing up to 5 years of prison sentence. The trial will be held by Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court.
“Propaganda" case upon a complaint
According to Diyarbakır Haber, the aforementioned court admitted an indictment drafted by Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office. The indictment revealed that a complaint has been submitted to police authorities and PM’s Office Communication Center on Geerdink regarding her tweet messages.
First arrived in Turkey 8 years ago and based in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır for the past 3 years, Geerdink is known to be the only European journalists reporting from Diyarbakır.
Geerdink writes to a website called “Kurdish Matters” and is a contributing writer at Diken news portal.
She is also the author of the book called "De Jongens Zijn Dood" (The Kids Died), an account on the topics of village guards, smuggling, unclaimed killings and forced migration. (EÖ/BM)
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.