New case against arrested Kurdish journalist over 2017 demonstrations
Photo: MA
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Ceylan Şahinli, one of the nine Kurdish journalists who were arrested on October 29, has been indicted for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."
In the indictment, some events and demonstrations she attended in 2017, when she was not yet a journalist, were cited as evidence against Şahinli.
One of the events was a commemoration event in Ankara for Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu, a member of the United Freedom Forces (BÖG) who was killed fighting ISIS in Syria on May 9, 2017.
Another event was to protest against Türkiye's airstrikes on Shingal, Iraq, where BÖG members were also killed.
The indictment also cites two other commemoration events for Bayraktaroğlu, as well as her social media posts about him. She had quoted Twitter posts about Bayraktaroğlu from the Revolutionary Youth Forces (DEV-GÜÇ).
Şahinli's posts about Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Akça, who had conducted a hunger strike for months after being dismissed from public service, were also included in the indictment.
The Ankara 20th Heavy Penal Court accepted the indictment. The first hearing is to be held tomorrow (March 7).
The arrested Kurdish journalists
Arrested on October 29, several journalists working for Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and the JINNEWS agency are charged with being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). They are facing up to 15 years in prison.
The prosecutors alleged that the two agencies are directly linked to the PKK, including having financial ties, and cited more than 100 news articles about the PKK as evidence.
Other evidence used against the journalists included tapped phone calls, travel records, printed and digital material found at their homes and workplaces, social media posts, small financial transfers, and the testimony of a secret witness.
Those indicted are Mezopotamya News Agency editor Diren Yurtsever; Mezopotamya reporters Berivan Altan, Ceylan Şahinli, Deniz Nazlım, Emrullah Acar, Hakan Yalçın, Salman Güzelyüz, and Zemo Ağgöz Yiğitsoy, freelance journalist Öznur Değer; e JİNNEWS reporter Ümmü Habibe Eren; and former Mezopotamya reporting intern Mehmet Günhan.
(NK/TY/VK)