Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: April 20, 2021

Available in: 🇹🇷  Türkçe

The second hearing of the trial against Yeni Yaşam Newspaper Managing Editor İnci Aydın on the charge of "spreading terrorist propaganda for an organization" was held today in Istanbul. The court ruled to acquit the journalist. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes the court ruling. However, we demand the same decision for other journalists on trial. Journalism is not a crime.

The second hearing of the trial against journalist İnci Aydın was held today at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court. Journalists and their lawyers were present at the hearing today.

The lawsuit followed the article titled "Is the New Attack Coming Ahead" on July 17, 2020, that exposed Turkish Military preparation of an operation against the cities in the north of Syria, and would be directed to the city, Kobane.

 In the indictment, the journalist was on the charge of "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization through the press and broadcast" and İnci faced a sentence in prison up to seven years.

 The journalist, who was called to give a testimony within the scope of the investigation, said that the news subject was sent by e-mail by the owner. The journalist, who stated that she would present the identity information later, stated in the file she submitted to the prosecutor through her lawyer Sercan Korkmaz that the news owner was temporarily abroad.

 After the defence of the lawyers, the court ruled acquittal to İnci citing that "there was no criminal element".

 The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the verdict of acquittal. We find the court decision proved once again that journalism is not a crime. We demand the same decision from the Turkish authorities for all journalists on trial. It is unacceptable for journalists who carry out their journalistic coverage to be prosecuted solely for doing their job. We demand that the Turkish judicial system follow policies that comply with press freedom criteria.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.

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