Journalist Barış Pehlivan surrenders to prison

Photo: Cumhuriyet

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Journalist Barış Pehlivan surrendered himself to the prison today, following the revocation of his probation because of an article in which he referred to a member of the Court of Cassation by their initials.

Accompanied by his family, fellow journalists, and political figures, Pehlivan delivered a brief speech outside the Marmara (Silivri) Prison on the outskirts of İstanbul. He mentioned that, due to an amendment to Law No. 5275 enacted in July, he should have been exempt from probationary obligations, but this provision was not applied to him. The amendment, which covered approximately 100,000 individuals, prevented those released from prison during the Covid-19 pandemic from returning to incarceration.

"Fifth time in prison"

"That law covered more than 100,000 people. It's a law that includes murder convicts, rape convicts, drug dealers, and child abusers," said Pehlivan.

"The second paragraph of Temporary Article 10 prevents me from going to prison. Before writing about this on August 2, I consulted both legal experts and academics about the law. Their consensus was that I should not return to prison. So, why am I going to prison? Why am I, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, not benefiting from this law?

"I am rebelling against this. Ultimately, I believe it's a violation of the people's right to information. They are attempting to censor my ideas, my books, my statements. Just as I wrote books when I went to prison before, I will write again. Those who put me in here also know that I will continue with journalism.

"I could have lived in a better country, but instead of being a fugitive, instead of committing disciplinary offenses, I'm facing prison for the fifth time. We will meet again on freer days."

Barış Pehlivan had been sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison for a news article related to the funeral of a National Intelligence Organization (MİT) agent who died in Libya in 2020 and was buried in Manisa.

After spending 6 months in prison, Pehlivan was released, but he was not granted the benefit of the amendment that prevented Covid-19 leave beneficiaries from returning to prison. If his appeal is not accepted, Pehlivan will serve an additional 8 months in prison.

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(HA/VK)