DİHA Reporter Bilal Gündem Released

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Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Bilal Güldem has been released.

Güldem was released in the first hearing held by Mardin 2nd Heavy Penal Court, according to DİHA.

He was detained in Batman on April 23, arrested on April 24

Gündem was taken into custody as he was returning from news pursuit in Batman and taken to Mardin on the same day.

Pursuant to his questioning at the Anti-Terror Bureau (TEM), he was referred to Nusaybin Public Prosecution.

He was arrested by the court on charges of “being member of [illegal] organization” and “terror organization propaganda” on April 24.

In the indictment prepared by Nusaybin Public Prosecution, Güldem’s visiting the neighborhoods where ditches and barricades were built and interviewing with locals and YPS-YPS JIN guerillas were deemed as “[illegal] organizational activity”.

One of the evidence was his “public” sharing of his article and images on Facebook.

34 journalists are imprisoned

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey Representative and bianet rapporteur, Erol Önderoğlu and Turkey Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) Chair, Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı were released today (June 30).

Güldem was charged with “providing equipment for [illegal] organization members and doing journalism in accordance with instructions of the organization”.

With the release of Önderoğlu and Korur-Fincancı, the number of arrested DİHA reporters has become 11, and the number of arrested journalists has become 34. (EA/TK)