Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into Öznur Değer, editor of the pro-Kurdish JINNEWS news agency, accusing her of disseminating terrorist propaganda in social media posts that included her own reporting, JINNEWS reported.
Prosecutors cited news reports Değer shared on her X account, photographs she took during a women’s march held for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25 and reposts of stories published by the Yeni Yaşam newspaper and JINNEWS as evidence of alleged propaganda.
As part of the investigation conducted by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Değer gave a statement at the Van Police Department on Wednesday. Prosecutors are expected either to decide on the case based on that statement or summon Değer to testify under oath.
Değer denied the accusation, saying her posts constituted journalistic activity and that the reports remain publicly accessible. She also said the investigation contradicted the ongoing peace process between the Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 but said in May 2025 it would disband and end its armed campaign. The Turkish Parliament in August established a special parliamentary commission to oversee the peace efforts.
Değer has faced multiple investigations and trials in recent years over her reporting and social media activity.
She was sentenced to more than three years in prison for repeatedly disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization in her social media posts about Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, two Kurdish journalists who were killed in a Turkish drone attack in northern Syria in December 2024.
In connection with that investigation, authorities also filed charges of preventing public officials from carrying out their duties and insult after she protested the treatment of her family during a police raid on her home in Mardin in February 2025, when she was detained. The first hearing in that case is scheduled for July 14. The Van Bar Association recently condemned the inclusion of Değer’s family in that investigation and criticized the judiciary for being used as a tool of intimidation.
Değer was also recently sentenced to more than six years in prison on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, referring to the PKK. The ruling is now before the Supreme Court of Appeals.
She was also indicted with another journalist for reporting on torture allegations against a gendarmerie commander, during a raid on a house in southeastern Mardin province.
Turkey frequently brings terrorism-related charges against journalists and media workers, a practice that has affected reporters covering the Kurdish issue, a reference to the demand for equal rights by the country’s Kurdish population and their struggle for recognition.
