Court releases fifteen Kurdish journalists in Diyarbakır

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The 4th Heavy Penal Court in Diyarbakır released all imprisoned Kurdish journalists today (July 12) on the second day of the first hearing of the case against 18 Kurdish journalists.

Fifteen journalists were imprisoned for 13 months without appearing in court before this hearing that started yesterday.

After all 18 journalists defended themselves, most of them in Kurdish, starting yesterday and continuing today, the court has also heard the witnessed today, including the unanimous witnesses.

Then the prosecutor gave an opinion and requested that all journalist should be kept jailed.

The lawyer of the journalists, Resul Temur took floor following this. He told the court that 30 Kurdish journalists have been arrested in Turkey in the last year. "This figure alone shows what a great judicial harassment the journalists are facing," he said.

The court ordered release of all arrested journalists.

What happened?

22 people were taken into custody on June 8, 2022 in Diyarbakır, 20 of whom were journalists.

Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) editor Aziz Oruç, JinNews News Director Safiye Alagaş, Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFGD) Co-Chairperson Serdar Altan, Xwebûn newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Ali Ertaş and journalists Ömer Çelik, Neşe Toprak, Mehmet Şahin, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Elif Üngör, Remziye Temel, Suat Doğuhan, Lezgin Akdeniz, İbrahim Koyuncu, Abdurrahman Öncü, Ramazan Geciken and Mazlum Güler were kept in detention for one week and arrested on June 16, 2022.

Journalists Gülşen Koçuk, Kadir Bayram, Mehmet Yalçın, Esmer Tunç and Feynaz Koçuk and İhsan Ergünlü detained with them were released on condition of judicial control.

The files of JİNNEWS Manager Safiye Alağaş, editor Gülşen Koçuk, ex-journalist Feynaz Koçuk and İhsan Ergülen who appeared in street interviews were separated on March 21.

A 383-page indictment was prepared against Alağaş, where she was charged with "being a member of an armed terrorist organization."

Alagaş was released in the first hearing on June 15 after staying in prison for one year. (RT/PE)