The hearings of the cases filed against arrested journalists Dicle Müftüoğlu, Sedat Yılmaz, Abdurrahman Gök, Mehmet Şah Oruç and Fırat Can Arslan, citing their professional activities and anonymous witness allegations, will be held in October and December. Journalists are accused of "making propaganda for a terrorist organisation", "being a member of a terrorist organisation", "establishing and managing an organisation" and "targeting public personnel". The accusations in question are based on the programs the journalists make, the phone calls they make with their colleagues, their travels abroad, their hotel stays, the news pages they follow, the deposits of money into their accounts and the failure to deposit money into their accounts.

 

FIRAT CAN ARSLAN

 

The first hearing of Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan, who was arrested within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and held in Sincan No. 1 Type F Prison, is on October 31. Arslan will appear before the judge at Diyarbakır 2nd Criminal Court of Peace on the charge of "targeting a public official". In the 3-page indictment, it was deemed a crime for Fırat to share the news of the appointment of the prosecutor and judge couple looking at the files of the journalists arrested in Amed(Diyarbakır) on his social media account.

 

In the indictment, it was claimed that the prosecutor and the judge in question were "fighting against terrorism" and that Arslan's post "caused public officials working in the fight against terrorism to become targets."

 

MEHMET ŞAH ORUÇ

 

Imprisoned journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç will appear before the judge on October 31. Mehmet Şah Oruç, who was arrested on April 27 within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office based on the statements of open witness Ümit Akbıyık, is being tried at the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court on the allegation of "being a member of a terrorist organisation". Oruç's second hearing will be held on October 31.

 

The first 5 pages of the 63-page indictment are devoted to "PKK/KCK operations", as in many indictments. The indictment included the statements of open witness Ümit Akbıyık regarding Oruç's journalistic activities and 35 news stories. It was noteworthy that in the indictment, it was stated that Oruç was "being investigated" for his signed news published in MA. Open witness Ümit Akbıyık stated that Oruç worked at MA, as if it were confidential information, and claimed that he also sent news to sites such as ANF and Nuçe Ciwan.

 

In the indictment, the news about the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the interview with Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair Leyla Güven, who went on hunger strike in 2019 to demand the end of the isolation, and the statements taken from former members of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) were included in the indictment. .

 

News from MPs and city residents about the "Sur Road Festival" organized by the trustee in Amed's Sur district, an interview with father Ali Rıza Aslan about the bones of Hakan Arslan, who lost his life in the clashes in Sur, being given to his family 7 years later, Russia Interviews with Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chairperson Saliha Aydeniz regarding the "Idlib Agreement" signed between Russia and Turkey after 34 soldiers were killed in the airstrike carried out by Russia on February 27, 2020, were deemed a crime.

 

In the indictment, the news about Oruç, who was detained while following the news in Mêrdîn, "Five journalists have been arbitrarily detained for seven days" and "Journalists detained in Mardin have been released" were cited as "evidence" that he worked for MA.

 

ABDURRAHMAN GÖK

 

The second hearing of MA editor Abdurrahman Gök, who was detained and arrested during the raids on many houses in Amed on April 25, will be held on December 5 at Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. Gök is accused of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "making propaganda for a terrorist organization".

 

The first 3 pages of the 14-page indictment consisted of "KCK operations". The next 3 pages included the statements of Ümit Akbıyık, an open witness who benefited from "effective repentance". The books that Gök reported on, his telephone conversations with his colleagues, and his reporting of the letter that Ahmet Kısa wrote to the Ministry of Justice for his detained mother were made the subject of accusations.

 

Gök's articles written in 2021 and 2022 were made the subject of accusation. Gök was accused of writing articles about Mustafa Gezgör's "After Time", İbrahim Kaya's "Uçurum Çiçekleri" and Sefkan Kobanê's "Kobanê Resistance Diary".

 

Among the crimes attributed to Gök, the news titled "Dağ-ı Devran: An invitation to a passionate journey" in MA included the Kurdish translation of Selahattin Demirtaş's books Devran and Leyla and the promotions of Harun Doğan's poetry book Dağ-ı Devran.

 

One of the articles shown as evidence of the crime was the news containing the statements of Ahmet Kısa, the son of 70-year-old Elif Kısa, who lived with her two adult sons with severe mental and physical disabilities and was arrested with the statement of a secret witness.

 

Gök's letter, which was sent by Ahmet Kısa, the hearing and speech impaired son of 70-year-old Elif Kısa, who was arrested on December 3, 2020 and put in Elbistan Type E Closed Prison, to the then Minister of Justice Abdullahamit Gül, "Minister of Justice from Ahmet Kısa" Letter to: Judge says that your mother 'aided and abetted' with the approval of the Minister of Justice" and made his report the subject of accusation.

 

"Kobanê: Neither a film nor a documentary film!", which Gök shot while following the news during the ISIS attack on Kobanê in 2014 and shared on his YouTube channel. It was also claimed that the video title was a crime.

 

In Gök's HTS call records, the phone calls he made with people he worked at the same workplace were cited as grounds for "being a member of an organisation".

 

The deposit of SSI premiums that the MA, where Gök worked, was legally obliged to pay, was also considered "evidence" for the accusation in question.

 

DİCLE MUFTÜOĞLU

 

The first hearing of Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-chairperson and Mezopotamya Agency (MA) editor Dicle Müftüoğlu, who was arrested on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, within the scope of an investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, will be held on December 7 at Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. Müftüoğlu, who is arrested in Sincan Women's Closed Prison, is accused of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "establishing and managing an organization".

 

41 pages of the 43-page indictment consisted of secret and open witness allegations regarding the general structure of the PKK and KCK and the operation in question. Among these witnesses were names such as Kerem Gökalp, Sami Baran and Ulaş, who are well known to the public and involved in the closure of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Kobanê Case. The statements of secret witnesses named "K8Ç4B3L1T5", who made statements about 9 journalists who were detained and arrested in Ankara and later released, were also included.

 

The indictment included allegations that Kerem Gökalp saw Müftüoğlu in Hinerê in 2014 and gave her ideological training for a month. The secret witness "K8Ç4B3L1T5" claimed that Müftüoğlu worked at MA and was "intimate" with women's organizations in Amed. In the indictment, it was claimed that Müftüoğlu was a "cadre" of the PKK, based on witness allegations. Müftüoğlu's meetings with her colleagues and news sources were described as "organizational activity".

 

Another point that attracted attention in the indictment was Müftüoğlu's visits abroad. In the indictment, witness Kerem Gökalp claimed that Müftüoğlu went abroad in 2014. However, Müftüoğlu's departure date abroad was 2017. Despite this, witness statements were included in the indictment.

 

The Financial Analysis report prepared by MASAK was included in the indictment. Müftüoğlu's money transaction was used as a justification for the allegation of "being a member of a terrorist organization".

 

SEDAT YILMAZ

 

The first hearing of MA editor Sedat Yılmaz, who was arrested on the same date along with Müftüoğlu within the scope of the same investigation, will be held at Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on December 14. Yılmaz is also accused of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "establishing and managing an terrorist organization".

 

41 pages of the 44-page indictment prepared against Yılmaz consisted of "the structuring of the PKK and KCK" and anonymous and open witness statements. The statements of Kerem Gökalp, Sami Baran and Ulaş and the anonymous witness named "K8Ç4B3L1T5" were also included in Yılmaz's file.

 

In the indictment, HTS records of Yılmaz's phone number were included. Yılmaz's sister, Filiz Yılmaz, was accused of her phone conversations with her colleagues. While the content of the conversations was not included in the indictment, it was stated that Yılmaz had 2 thousand 176 call-received information.

 

In the indictment, it was stated that Yılmaz's phone signal was a crime in the Pîrsus district of Rîha(Urfa) on September 20, 2014. Yılmaz's visit here was attributed to "PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan's call for mobilization to the Kurdish people against ISIS." It was claimed that Yılmaz went to the border to support YPG upon these calls. However, no action or activity in which Yılmaz participated was included.

 

The hotels where Yılmaz stayed were considered crimes. It was claimed that Yılmaz was at the hotel on the same dates with people who were "registered with the and terrorist organization" and thus had a "relationship with the an terrorist organization". However, information about who the "being a member of a terrorist organization" in question were was not included in the indictment.

 

The indictment also included the MASAK report on Yılmaz. Yılmaz's small number of banking activities and his absence were also shown as crimes. In the indictment, it is stated that Yılmaz had very few banking transactions, was not registered with SSI after September 2016, but had a large amount of cash inflow to his account, did not make any money transfer/EFT transaction after March 2017, and did not withdraw/deposit cash after 2018. It was stated that he did not carry out the transaction. The situation in question was considered "contrary to the normal flow of life". It was also claimed that Yılmaz "observed organizational secrecy".

 

The indictment also included allegations that Yılmaz "adopted the views and ideologies of the PKK/KCK and PYD/YPG" through posts on his Facebook account, "made posts supporting the activities of an terrorist organization" and "followed pages that made news under the control of the terrorist organization".