Kurdish journalist Kaya put behind bars by Turkish gov’t over alleged terror propaganda

Kurdish journalist Abdullah Kaya, a reporter for pro-Kurdish Dicle news agency (DİHA) that was shut down with a government decree, was put behind the bars on Sunday following the approval of 4 year and 2 month prison sentence sought for him.

Journalist Kaya was detained in a house raid on January 18, 2017 for allegedly “spreading terror propaganda.” However, he was released pending in a trial following a hearing on May 11, 2017

According to a report by pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency, after the approval of 4 year and 2 month prison sentence sought for him, Abdullah Kaya has been re-arrested on Sunday after getting detained in Diyadin District Public Hospital where he was receiving treatment. Kaya was then taken from Diyadin to Ağrı province and it is not known yet which prison he has been put in.

Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by the SCF has showed that 248 journalists and media workers are in jails as of December 19, 2017, most in pre-trial detention languishing in notorious Turkish prisons without even a conviction. Of those in Turkish prisons, 221 are arrested pending trial, only 27 journalists remain convicted and serving time in Turkish prisons. An outstanding detention warrants remain for 139 journalists who live in exile or remain at large in Turkey.

Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down more than 180 media outlets after the controversial coup attempt.

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