Wall Street Journal Reporter Albayrak Sentenced to Prison For ‘Terrorist Propaganda’

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Due to an article she has written, US-based Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Ayla Albayrak has been sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization".

Reporting the conviction of Albayrak, Thomas Grove from WSJ wrote "conviction on terrorist propaganda charges highlights government's increased targeting of journalists".

Albayrak who has the citizenship of both Finland and Turkey and resides currently in New York, said in her statement to WSJ, that she would lodge an appeal against the decision and noted:

"Undesired reports on operations in southeastern Turkey"

"The decision shows the extent to which the authorities did not want the operations that were going on in Turkey's southeast to be reported on. It also shows yet again, that the international media is not immune to the ongoing press crackdown in Turkey."

What was in the article?

Albayrak's article "Urban Warfare Escalates in Turkey's Kurdish-Majority Southeast" which was the subject of legal proceedings was issued on Augıst 19, 2015 on WSJ.

Together with the article, there is also a video shot in Silopi district of the predominantly Kurdish province of Şırnak in southeastern Turkey which showed the clashes between the security forces of Turkey and members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The video also includes some interviews with mayors and the residents of Silopi.

Albayrak was summoned to police station to take her deposition about the article in November 2015 and a lawsuit was brought against her in April 2016. (AŞ/DG)