A Turkish court on Tuesday handed down a suspended 15-month sentence to Kurdish journalist Erdoğan Alayumat on terrorism-related charges, the pro-Kurdish JINNEWS news agency reported.
The İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court convicted Alayumat of disseminating terrorist propaganda but suspended the sentence, meaning he will not serve time in prison unless he commits a similar offense within the next five years. The court acquitted him of membership in a terrorist organization.
Esra Solin Dal and Mehmet Aslan, both reporters for the Mezopotamya news agency who were tried along with Alayumat, were also acquitted of membership in a terrorist organization.
Alayumat, Dal and Aslan were detained on April 23, 2024, and arrested three days later on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization based on their coverage of press statements and contacts with news sources. The İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court ordered their release pending trial under judicial supervision 24 days after their arrest.
Lawyers for the defendants argued in their defense that the case stemmed from reporting on the prison conditions of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and that the legal criteria required for such a conviction were absent. They said some of the articles cited in the indictment merely included the name “Abdullah Öcalan” and did not constitute criminal content and requested acquittal.
Alayumat is also standing trial in a separate case along with six other journalists over allegations that they supplied articles to Germany-based outlets Yeni Özgür Politika and its culture and art supplement PolitikArt. Prosecutors accuse the journalists of helping sustain media organizations allegedly linked to the PKK and are seeking prison sentences of up to 10 years. The next hearing is scheduled for September 17.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 but said in May 2025 it would disband and end its armed campaign.
Turkey frequently brings terrorism-related charges against journalists and media workers, a practice that has affected reporters covering the Kurdish issue as well as other sensitive topics.
According to Expression Interrupted, 21 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 163rd out of 180 nations.
