Kurdish journalist Sedat Yılmaz faces 'terror' charges over 'lack of banking transactions,' social media activities
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The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has indicted Kurdish journalist Sedat Yılmaz, for "being a member of an illegal organization" and "founding or leading a terrorist organization."
Yılmaz, an editor of Mezopotamya Agency (MA), is also one of the authors for the BİA Children's Library.
The 44-page indictment primarily consists of information related to the history and activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the organization Yılmaz is accused of being a member of.
The indictment labels MA, as well as Jin News, Artı TV, Yeni Yaşam newspaper, and the Kurdish-language children's TV network Zarok TV as the "broadcasting and publication committee" of the PKK.
Furthermore, the indictment includes statements from two confidential witnesses identified as "Ulaş" and "K8Ç4B3L1T5." "Ulaş" also serves as a confidential witness in an ongoing closure case against the People's Democratic Party (HDP) due to its alleged "PKK connections."
The prosecutor added Yılmaz's HTS records, which revealed that he had made a total of 2,176 calls with 11 individuals, including his brother and colleagues.
The indictment claims that Yılmaz intersected with the signal of base stations connected to 49 individuals who were suspects in other "terror" cases and communicated with them.
Additionally, the indictment contains information that during the "resolution process," the 2012-2015 period when the government was engaged in talks with the PKK, Yılmaz allegedly stayed at the same hotel as individuals with "PKK connections" in Suruç, Urfa.
Minimal banking transactions
The prosecutor's indictment also includes a report prepared by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which states that Yılmaz conducted unusually few banking transactions.
The prosecutor noted that after September 2016, Yılmaz's account saw significant cash deposits, without specifying the amount. Since March 2017, Yılmaz had not carried out any money transfer/EFT transactions.
Furthermore, the indictment claimed that he had not withdrawn or deposited cash since 2018, which was considered "against the natural flow of the life" and adherence to the "organizational secrecy" of the PKK.
Social media
Prosecutors included Yılmaz's Facebook profile, which had not shared any posts since 2017, in the indictment.
When the posts he shared were "evaluated as a whole," the prosecutor said, it was concluded that Yılmaz "adopted the ideology of the PKK, KCK, PYD, and YPG." The prosecutor alleged that Yılmaz followed pages on Facebook that "produced news under the influence of the organization."
"When the evidence concerning Sedat Yılmaz is considered as a whole, it is understood that the suspect actively conducted activities while preserving his privacy by using his social life as a cover in line with the ideology and instructions of the PKK/KCK armed terrorist organization," the indictment states.
The Ankara 28th Heavy Penal Court returned the indictment due to "lack of jurisdiction" and concluded that it should be sent to Diyarbakır. Sedat Yılmaz has been in custody at Sincan Prison since May 3. (HA/VK)