Journalist not having a press card cited as a reason for life imprisonment
Click to read the article in Turkish
The Diyarbakır 8th Heavy Penal Court has released the detailed ruling in the case of Rojat Doğru, a former camera operator for Gelî Kurdistan TV, whom it sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 years and 1 month in prison.
Doğru was convicted of "disrupting the unity of the state and integrity of the country, attempted willful killing and propagandizing for a terrorist organization." The court deemed the journalist following the 2014 Kobanê protests a crime.
CLICK - Journalist Rojhat Doğru sentenced to life in prison
As a reason for the sentence, the court cited the statement of Rıdvan Ö., who was injured during the protests and became a witness against Doğru: "I was on my way for a holiday visit. At one point, I saw there were clashes. As I was crossing the street, shots were fired at me. I saw the defendant [Rojhat Doğru] had a camera in one hand and a gun in the other hand. He was firing everywhere."
The court paid no attention to Doğru's defense statement that he was at the scene for news follow up and he did not have a weapon.
Concluding that Doğru was not following the protests as a journalist, the court cited the fact that he did not have a press card issued by the Directorate of Communications.
Judge: No sufficient evidence
A judge in the court board dissented from the verdict and said there was no sufficient evidence to punish Doğru.
The judge said Doğru was at the scene for journalism purposes and recalled his defense that he had been targeted by Rıdvan Ö. after he was granted an award because of differences of opinion between the two.
The judge also pointed out an expert report concluding that it was not possible for Doğru to fire shots while holding the camera and said the report backed the journalist's defense.
When the expert report and the evidence were evaluated together, the judge said, there was no sufficient evidence to punish the journalist and he should be acquitted.
What happened?Over the videos that he captured during the Kobanî protests in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern and eastern provinces, Rojhat Doğru was awarded the top prize in the video news category of the "Most Successful Journalists" competition held by Southeastern Journalists Association (GGC) in 2015 with his news story "October 6-7 Incidents-Diyarbakır." After he received the award, news camera operator Doğru was targeted by the websites close to the Free Cause Party (HÜDAPAR), a pro-Kurdish and Sunni Islamist political party, and on social media. It was alleged that Doğru attended the protests where he reported news as a protestor and that he wounded a person with a gun. An investigation was launched into the related allegations. In 2017, Doğru started standing trial on charges of "disrupting the unity of the state and integrity of the country" and "attempted deliberate killing". As part of another investigation launched in Diyarbakır on charges of "membership of a terrorist organization" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization", he was detained in İstanbul on December 3, 2018. A day later, he was arrested by the Diyarbakır 5th Criminal Judgeship of Peace via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). He was accused of interviewing the members of the organization at a picnic in Ranya while working for the Iraq-based Galî Kurdistan TV. He was indicted on December 10 after he was arrested. Based on preliminary proceedings, the indictment was merged with the case where he was standing trial at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court. The Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court released Doğru at the hearing on February 26, 2019. It also imposed an international travel ban and judicial control measures on the journalist. |
(HA/VK)