Five journalists acquitted in 'trustee protests' case in Mardin
The journalists after being released from detention. (Photo: Ahmet Kanbal)
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
A court has acquitted five journalists of violating the Law on Gatherings and Demonstrations in a case concerning the protests against the dismissal of the mayor of the southeastern Mardin province.
Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporters Ahmet Kanbal and Mehmet Şah Oruç, JinNews reporter Rojda Aydın and freelance journalists Nurcan Yalçın and Halime Parlak had been detained while following the protests in 2019.
Apart from the journalists, the Mardin 1st Penal Court of First Instance also acquitted three other defendants of violating Law No. 2911 in today's (October 20) hearing.
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"We are journalists"
Submitting their opinion at the hearing, the prosecutor stated that the defendants should be acquitted.
Kanbal said that police prevented them from doing their jobs by the police and the prosecutor's opinion should be in line with this.
In his defense statement, Kanbal's attorney Erdal Kuzu noted that they had previously submitted the documents proving that their clients were journalists to the court.
The belongings found on their clients during their detention proved that they were journalists, the attorney said.
"Appointment of a civil servant to replace an elected mayor is news anywhere in the world. As journalists, our clients followed the demonstration where the appointment of a trustee to the municipality was protested. We demand their acquittal," he said.
The attorney of Parlak and Yalçın, Resul Temur, said, "Our clients were detained while they were doing journalism. They did not do any criminal acts. For this reason, we demand the acquittal of our clients in line with the [prosecutor's] opinion."
Attorneys of the other defendants also requested an acquittal.
Announcing its verdict, the court acquitted all defendants on the grounds that there was no definitive and convincing evidence that they had committed the charged offense.
What happened?On August 19, 2019, the Ministry of Interior replaced the mayors of three Kurdish-majority provinces in the country's southeast, Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van, with the governors of these provinces, citing the ongoing investigations against the mayors on "terrorism-related" charges. Protests began in those cities after the dismissal of the mayors. Police detained the five journalists while following the protests in Mardin on August 20. Giving statements at the Anti-Terror Branch of the Security Directorate, the journalists were released after seven days in detention. Later, a case was filed against them for violating Law No. 2911 on Gatherings and Demonstrations. They face prison sentences of from six months to three years. The case was concluded after three hearings. |
(HA/VK)