Turkey: Journalist Kibriye Evren’s Case Merged With Another Case She Stands For Her Reporting In Mersin
Location: Turkey, Diyarbakir
Date: February 24, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The 15th hearing of the trial against journalist Kibriye Evren over her journalistic activities was held on Thursday in Diyarbakır. The journalist was sued over allegations of being a member of a terrorist organization and spreading propaganda. The court ruled to merge this case of Kibriye along with a similar ongoing case against the journalist in Mersin and adjourned the next hearing to a further date.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the endless legal persecution against journalists. We demand Turkish authorities quit weaponizing judicial orders against journalists to intimidate them.
The 15th hearing of the trial against Jin News reporter Kibriye Evren for her journalistic activities and social media posts was held at Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on Thursday. The court adjourned the hearing to a further date, by deciding to merge the ongoing case in Mersin 2nd High Criminal Court with this case. Although Diyarbakır’s court should have requested a merger first.
The lawyers Resul Temur and Pirozhan Karali represented Kibriye in the court. The court’s president announced that the witness of the case coded M.A. 's statement included this file by mistake and gave the first words to defense.
Resul Temur said that there was more than one case filed to the journalist with the same accusations, and there would be merging some of these files since they overlapped in history. Temur also requested the court that the missing elements be eliminated.
The prosecutor also requested that the files be merged since there is a legal and de facto connection between the file in Mersin’s court and the current one in Diyarbakır’s court.
Kibriye Evren is facing up to 20 years sentence in prison over the charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist propaganda due to her social media posts, traveling abroad, and confidential witness statements. The journalist was arrested in Diyarbakır on October 9, 2018, and was released at the eighth hearing of the case filed against her. At the journalist's hearing on March 10, 2020, the judicial control requirement was lifted, but her travel ban remained.
The CFWIJ condemns the constant legal ordeal of journalists simply for doing their job. We consider these attempts to silence journalists cast a shadow over the free press and independent journalism. We demand Turkish authorities to provide an environment for journalists to write freely without being threatened by the judiciary. Journalism is not a crime.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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