Journalist Durket Süren handed prison sentence on 'propaganda' charges
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In the case of Durket Süren, a reporter for Jinnews agency, for "knowingly and willingly aiding and abetting an illegal organization" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization," the decision came out at the ninth hearing.
While the journalist did not attend the hearing at the Diyarbakır 11th Heavy Penal Court, his attorney Yusuf Erdoğan was present in the courtroom.
The prosecutor repeated their opinion as to the accusations from the hearing on December 13, demanding the acquittal of the journalist for "aiding and abetting" and a prison sentence of 10 months to 5 years for "propaganda."
Objecting to the prosecutor's request for a prison sentence against his client, Erdoğan said the social media posts subject to charges were obtained illegally, citing a Constitutional Court judgment that law enforcement authorities cannot probe people's social media accounts without the instruction of a Public Prosecutor's Office.
Pointing out the journalist's statement that some of the posts in the file do not belong to her, the lawyer said, "Screenshots do not qualify as legal evidence. In order to understand before and after a post, they should be recorded within a feed."
Even if it is assumed that Süren had shared the posts in question, the courts verdicts about the issue at the time should be looked at, he argued.
The Court of Cassation, the top appeals court of Turkey, recognized the People's Defense Units (YPG), a Kurdish armed group in Syria, as a "terrorist organization" in a verdict it issued on May, 25, 2015, and the posts subject to charges were shared before this ruling, the attorney noted.
Erdoğan demanded the acquittal of his client of "propaganda" charges.
Handing down its judgment, the court acquitted Süren of "aiding and abetting" and sentenced her to 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison for "propaganda."
Lifting the journalist's international travel ban, the court deferred the sentence.
What happened?
In March 2018, Durket Süren was detained along with 12 people in the Lice district of the Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır.
After being interrogated for her social media posts, she was released with an international travel ban after four days.
Issuing an indictment on February 12, 2019, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office charged the journalist with "knowingly and willingly aiding and abetting an illegal organization" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization," citing her Twitter posts and tapped conversations and claiming that she sold banned issues of two pro-Kurdish newspapers, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem.
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(HA/VK)