Journalist Engin Eren sentenced to prison for 'aiding a terrorist organization'

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Engin Eren, formerly a reporter for the now-shuttered Dicle News Agency (DİHA) has been sentenced to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison for "aiding an illegal organization while not being a member of it."

Eren was among the 31 defendants who were put on trial for "being a member of a terrorist organization," "violating the Law on Military Forbidden Zones and Safe Zones," and "violating the Law on Gatherings and Demonstrations."

The case concerns a 2015 sit-in protest against the conflict in the country's Kurdish-majority regions.

The 34th and final hearing of the case was held today (November 30) at the Batman 2nd Heavy Penal Court.

Eren did not attend today's hearing while his attorney, Resul Temur, was present in the courtroom.

Repeating their opinion as to the accusations from the hearing on June 3, the prosecutor demanded all defendants be sentenced for the offenses charged against them.

Making defense against the prosecutor's opinion, Temur said, "My client went to the protest that is the subject of the lawsuit for news coverage. In the minutes recorded by police officers after the incident, my client is also defined as a journalist.

"Moreover, evidence in the file also shows the area was outside of the military forbidden zone. It's clear that the crime did not occur. Also, the fact that the police did not warn [the crowd] to disperse shows that the material and spiritual conditions of the offense did not occur. I request my client's acquittal."

The court sentenced Eren for "aiding the organization while not being a member of it" and acquitted him of the other charges.

Twenty-nine defendants received the same sentence as Eren. Two were sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of a terrorist organization."

What happened?

On September 18, 2015, a sit-in protest was organized to "stop deaths" during clashes between the army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Sason, Batman in eastern Türkiye.

Over 80 people took part in the protest, including Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ayşe Acar-Başaran, the then-co-mayors of Batman and NGO representatives.

Following the protest, 83 people, including DİHA reporter Engin Eren, were detained for being "human shields" for the PKK.

Eren's cameras and flash memories were seized and cited as criminal evidence. (HA/VK)