Turkish court accuses convicted Kurdish journalists of ‘manipulating public opinion’ in reasoned decision

Photo: Artı Gerçek

An Ankara court has issued its reasoned decision in the trial of Kurdish journalists convicted on terrorism charges earlier in July, accusing the defendants of “manipulating public opinion” through their publications, the Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reported on Thursday.

The case involved reporters from MA and JINNEWS, pro-Kurdish media outlets often targeted by authorities due to their reporting, who were sentenced to over six years in prison on charges of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

In the detailed decision the court accused the journalists of recruiting for the PKK, boosting the morale of PKK sympathizers and members by creating the perception that Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, is being subjected to unlawful treatment, that the state mistreats citizens of Kurdish origin and that the Turkish Armed Forces use chemical weapons.

The decision was based on the journalists’ publications, social media posts and funds transfers among themselves as well as books and magazines confiscated during raids on their homes and witness testimony against them.

Kurdish journalists in Turkey frequently face legal harassment, stand trial and are given jail sentences for covering issues related to Kurds and the outlawed PKK.

The case involved MA reporters Diren Yurtsever, Berivan Altan, Selman Güzelyüz, Hakan Yalçın, Emrullah Acar, Ceylan Şahinli, Zemo Ağgöz and Deniz Nazlım, along with JINNEWS reporters Habibe Eren and Öznur Değer, and former MA intern Mehmet Günhan.

Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, especially since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan survived a failed coup in July 2016.

Turkey, which has been suffering from a poor record of freedom of the press for years, ranks 158th among 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index published on May 3 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

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