A Turkish court on Tuesday kept journalist Nadiye Gürbüz in jail after spending more than seven months in pretrial detention, citing witnesses who have yet to testify, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported.
The İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court made the decision at the first hearing of Gürbüz’s trial on charges of membership in the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), which Turkey designates as a terrorist organization. The court adjourned the trial until December 8.
Gürbüz was jailed pending trial on February 5 along with fellow Etkin News Agency (ETHA) journalists Pınar Gayıp and Elif Bayburt in a mass detention operation targeting left-wing groups and organizations.
Prosecutors are seeking up to 22-and-a-half years in prison for Gürbüz. The indictment cites her work for ETHA, including an interview and coverage of public events, as well as telephone contacts and financial transactions as evidence against her.
At Tuesday’s hearing Gürbüz denied the accusations, saying the interviews and events cited in the indictment were part of her journalistic work; her phone contacts were with the news sources; and the financial transactions presented as evidence concerned ordinary expenses such as rent and legal fees. She also challenged the witness testimony against her. A secret witness heard by the court said he did not personally know Gürbüz and knew of her only through her work for ETHA.
Her lawyer, Meral Hanbayat, said Gürbüz had previously been prosecuted and acquitted over similar accusations and that the acquittal had been upheld.
The prosecutor requested that Gürbüz remain in pretrial detention, citing witnesses who had yet to testify, the nature of the accusation and the state of the evidence. The court granted the request, citing the outstanding witnesses testimony.
Gayıp, who was jailed in the same investigation, was released pending trial on Monday after more than seven months in pretrial detention. Bayburt’s first hearing is scheduled for September 29.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 24 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.
