Turkey: No Relief For Pınar Gayıp And Semiha Şahin As The Court Adjourns 18th Hearing Of Bogus Terror Trial
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: May 26, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The 18th hearing of the case against Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and reporter Pınar Gayip was held in İstanbul on May 26. The prosecutor repeated his opinion to the court and sought the conviction of journalists on terror-related charges. The court adjourned the hearing until September 14 to review the case file.
Journalists Semiha Şahin and Pınar Gayıp are being prosecuted on the charges of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and "making a chain of propaganda for a terrorist organization".
The 18th hearing of the case was held at İstanbul’s 23rd High Criminal Court. Lawyers Özcan Karakoç and Kader Tonç represented the journalists at the hearing. They defended the journalists and criticized the allegations against them. The defendants' lawyers denied all the accusations and requested the journalists’ acquittal.
The accusations were against the journalists formed as a result of social media activity and the fact that they participated in a protest to cover it. Semiha and Pınar are facing up to 23 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the prosecution repeated his arguments before the court and requested the journalists’ conviction on charges of being affiliated with a terrorist organization and spreading terror propaganda again.
In the previous hearing on March 24, the prosecution alleged that the news outlet ETHA where the journalists work is linked to a terrorist group Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). The posts of journalists shared on their social media accounts were claimed as "making propaganda in a chain".
The journalists were initially arrested on April 19, 2018. They were released but remained under house arrest which was then lifted on December 11, 2019. The house arrest measure against Semiha and Pınar was lifted on December 11, 2019. However, the travel ban imposed on them continues.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is extremely concerned about journalists' freedom in Turkey. We consider these prolonged trials that have been adjourned for various reasons are made to intimidate journalists. Journalists Semiha and Pınar have fulfilled their professional responsibilities. The legal persecution against journalists is unacceptable. We demand an immediate acquittal of Semiha and Pınar. We reiterate that 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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