Jinnews reporter Melike Aydın, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Semra Turan, Tolga Güney, Delal Akyüz, Gazete Duvar reporter Cihan Başakçıoğlu and Peoples' Equality and Democratic Party (DEM Party) press worker Funda Akbulut were detained in a house raid on February 13 as part of an investigation by the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for “being a member of a terrorist organization”. 

 

On February 16, journalists Aydın, Güney, Akyüz and Akbulut were taken before a Criminal Judge of Peace, who ordered house arrest for Aydın, Güney, Akyüz and Akbulut, while Başakçıoğlu and Turan were ordered to sign in two days a week as a judicial control measure. Eight months after the investigation, a decision of non-prosecution was issued against Cihan Başakçıoğlu. The indictment prepared against Funda Akbulut was sent to Izmir 18th High Criminal Court. The court sent Akbulut's indictment to Izmir 2nd High Criminal Court, which continues its review. 

 

HOUSE ARREST WILL CONTINUE

 

Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office completed the investigation against journalists Semra Turan, Tolga Güney and Melike Aydın. The prosecutor's office sent the indictment prepared with the allegation of “being a member of a terrorist organization” and the Izmir 13th High Criminal Court accepted the indictment yesterday. It was decided that the first hearings of the cases opened against the indictments prepared separately will be held on February 10. Accepting the indictment, the court rejected the journalists' request to lift the judicial control measure of house arrest on the grounds that “the evidence has not been collected”. 

 

SAME MISTAKE REPEATED DUE TO COPY-PASTE

 

The indictments based the allegation that the journalists were “members of a terrorist organization” on the statements of open witness Buse Aydın, confessing witness Ümit Akbıyık and secret witness “K8Ç4B3LIT5”, who had previously testified in cases against journalists. Since the indictments were prepared by copy-paste method, the surname of the confessing witness Ümit Akbyık was repeated as “Dikbayır” in many parts of all three indictments. 

 

In the indictments, the first five pages of which describe the foundation, history and purpose of the PKK, attempts were made to establish a link between the journalists and the PKK through the statements of open, confessed and secret witnesses. In the indictments, journalists' reporting on the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, the solution of the Kurdish issue, women's, ecology and politics were linked to “membership in a terrorist organization”. In the indictments, the journalists' travels and the news sources they interviewed were made the subject of accusations. 

 

WOMEN'S NEWS ON FILE 

 

The indictment includes the allegation of secret witness “K8Ç4B3LIT5” that journalist Turan worked under the “KCK Press Committee”. “Women in the Middle East and North Africa have formed a union: NADA” and “Newroz carried from Kadifekale to Gündoğu”, as well as news reports on violence against women and women's organizations, were evaluated as “organizational activities”. It was noteworthy that Turan, an MA reporter, was shown as a JINNEWS reporter. Turan was also accused of sharing news from her own agency on her virtual media account. In the indictment, the low amount of money transfers sent by her colleagues to Turan and by Turan to her colleagues were criminalized. 

 

The indictment also included Turan's recordings of news sources or news related to the news. The indictment included Turan's telephone conversations about the tree cutting in Muğla Milas Akbelen Forest and the protest of Agrobay Greenhouse workers in İzmir Bergama who staged a sit-in protest because they were dismissed from their jobs, and the news reports he prepared on these issues. This is justified as “membership in an illegal organization”. 

 

WITNESS WHO DID NOT KNOW GÜNEY'S NAME

 

Güney's indictment includes the statements of open witness Buse Aslan. Aslan claimed that she did not know who Güney was, but that he sent his news to television and news websites “close to the terrorist organization”. “I know that his news was published on organizational websites such as Sterk TV, Medya Haber, ANF, Fırat News,” Aslan said.

 

The indictment, which includes the allegation of the secret witness codenamed “K8Ç4B3LIT5” that Güney worked under the “KCK Press Committee”, claims that Güney wrote news articles about the cutting down of Muğla Akbelen Forest, the quarries to be opened in İzmir Bergama Kozak Plateau and the gold mine in Bergama in line with the statements made by the KCK Ecology Commission. In the indictment, Güney's coverage of press statements on isolation, political prisoners, the use of chemical weapons, and femicide in the city was also charged, and his report on the press statement titled “Êzîdîs respond to genocide by organizing” was again linked to the KCK. In the indictment, the mention of the terms “Kurdistan” and “Kurdish issue” in some of Güney's news reports was also interpreted as an element of crime. 

 

NEWS REPORTS WERE MADE THE SUBJECT OF ACCUSATION

 

The indictment against journalist Melike Aydın includes the testimony of open witness Buse Aslan that she reported on Aydın with the instructions of an “terrorist organization”. The indictment includes 33 phone calls made by Aydın with news sources or journalists, and the news reports on political prisoners, police operations, detentions and university students protesting the establishment of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) were presented as evidence of crime. In the indictment, Aydın's news reports on prisoner burns and the condition of prisoners, as well as news reports on detentions in Izmir, isolation, sick prisoners, prisoners' hunger strikes in prison and the Akbelen Forest cutting were also charged. 

 

MA / Tolga Güney