Turkey: Journalist Nazan Sala Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison After Reporting On Van Military Torture
Location: Turkey, Van
Date: January 6, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The fourth hearing of the trial against journalists Şehriban Abi, Nazan Sala, and Zeynep Durgut was held in Van today. Journalists were facing charges of “being a member of a terrorist organization" for reporting on two Van villagers tortured by the military. The court acquitted all journalists from the charges they faced. However, Nazan Sala was sentenced to a 15-month prison term for spreading terrorist propaganda. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes the court decision, however, the prison sentence to Nazan is unacceptable. We urge the Turkish authorities that journalism is not a crime, and demand the decision given to Nazan be annulled.
At the fourth hearing of the case on Thursday, the Van 5th High Criminal Court acquitted all journalists from the charge of ‘being a member of an armed organization’. However, the court convicted Nazan of a propaganda charge and sentenced her to a 15-month jail term. Her jail term has been suspended.
Journalists Nazan Sala, Adnan Bilen, and Cemil Uğur attended the hearing today, and defense lawyers represented the journalists before the court on Thursday.
Nazan Sala made a statement at today’s hearing. She drew attention to the year of crime that was considered in the case file. She stated that she continued her profession as a freelance journalist in 2007. “When a newsroom called me, I was reporting the news. I am a journalist and this is what we do. I have no link to the TV channel mentioned in the indictment,” she said. While working as a freelance journalist, she said she did not only report to RojTV.
Following Nazan, her lawyer Ekin Yeter underlined that the journalist had not even given testimony regarding the alleged crime on the specified date mentioned in the indictment. Stating that the new lawsuit brought against the journalist aims to expand the case file, the lawyer said, "There is no detail about how my client was linked to RojTV, and also about the news content."
After a short break, the prosecutor gave his opinion and demanded all five journalists’ acquittal from the charge of ‘being a member of an armed organization’. On the other hand, the same prosecutor requested Nazan to be punished for ‘spreading propaganda.
Nazan defended against the prosecutor’s opinion and demanded her acquittal from the court, stating that the social media posts that were considered as a criminal element were not posted by her. She explained that there were only tagged posts she had on her social media accounts and nothing linked to her.
Nazan’s lawyer Veysi Atay also said that she should also be acquitted of the propaganda charge. Veysi Atay added that there was no crime in the social media posts mentioned in the indictment about the journalist.
The court ruled that all five journalists be acquitted from the charges they faced, however, convicted Nazan to 15 months in prison. Her jail term had been suspended.
On October 6, 2020, journalists Şehriban and Nazan were detained during the raid at the Mesopotamia Agency’s Van office. Four days later, they were arrested for reporting about two Kurdish villagers named Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban, who was tortured and thrown from a national army helicopter. One of the victims of the torture, Servet Turgut, died from his injuries on September 30.
The indictment against journalists Şehriban and Nazan was completed on February 16, 2021, and was officially accepted by the court. The first hearing of the case was held on April 2, 2021, and the journalists were released after 175 days.
In the meantime, another lawsuit was filed against journalist Nazan Sala as a result of the investigation launched 12 years ago. Nazan was sued on the charge of being affiliated with a terrorist organization.
The CFWIJ welcomes the acquittal of journalists, but the prison sentence given to Nazan is unacceptable. Nazan is a journalist who has achieved good journalism with her coverage. We demand the Turkish authorities an annulment of the prison charge against the journalist and to issue a verdict of acquittal instead. Journalism is not a crime.
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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