Jail Term for Journalist Doğan Over ‘Painting’

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Journalist and painter Zehra Doğan has been sentenced to 2 years 9 months and 22 days in prison due to her painting she drew during curfew in Turkey’s southeastern Mardin’s Nusaybin district, and her news coverage of a 10-year-old child.

"Yıkık binalara neden türk bayraklı bu resmi yaptın" diye 2 yıl 10 ay hapis aldım. Oysa bu fotoğrafı çeken onlardı. Ben sadece resmettim.. pic.twitter.com/kaMPA8Zbb5

— Zehradogan (@zehradoganjinha) 5 Mart 2017

“I’ve received imprisonment for ‘drawing a painting with Turkish flags on ruined homes’. However, it was them who took this picture, I just painted it”.

Her lawyer Aslı Pasinli said, “My client is a journalist and fine arts graduate. Her paintings were posted without a comment”. Lawyer Şiraz Baran also said Doğan was present in Nusaybin as a journalist.

Announcing verdict following the pleas, the court ruled acquittal of Doğan from the charge of “[illegal] organization membership”, and ruled jail term of 2 years 9 months and 22 days due to her painting and news coverage of notes of a 10-year-old child.

JİNHA news editor Doğan was arrested on July 23, 2016 in Nusaybin because of her journalism activities and social media posts.