Turkey: State To Pay €1,350 In Damages To Journalist Zehra Doğan For Unfair Trial Rules European Court Of Human Rights
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: March 24, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Turkey to pay damage to journalist and artist Zehra Doğan for violating the presumption of innocence. The journalist will be paid a compensation of 1,350 Euros.
Zehra Doğan, editor of shuttered Jin News Agency (JİNHA), was arrested on charges of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" over the paintings she drew and the reports she covered during the curfew in Mardin in 2015. In 2016, Zehra was charged with “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” and “membership of a terrorist organization”. She was arrested after her house raid and spent more than four months in pre-trial detention. She was released at her first hearing of the case on December 9, 2016. Despite acquitting on the charge of “being affiliated with a terrorist organization”, on 24 March 2017, the was convicted of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” and sentenced to two years, nine months, and 22 days in prison. The journalist's prison sentence was upheld on June 2, 2017.
The criminal charge against the journalist was linked to a painting she drew during the curfew and the conflict that happened between the Turkish army and Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in Mardin’s Nusaybin district. The painting was the reaction of Zehra’s from a photograph taken by the Turkish military and spread by the social media accounts of Turkish security forces. Another criminal element was an article that Zehra wrote about a ten years old resident Elif Akboğa from Nusaybin who witnessed the conflicts in curfew. Also, the journalist’s social media activity from December 21, 2015, to December 9, 2016, considered evidence of her guilt.
The journalist was sent to prison on October 24, 2018, and was released from Tarsus Closed Women's Prison on February 24, 2019. Throughout her imprisonment, the rights of the journalist, such as her transfer to an open prison, were ignored. The reason for the ban was that Zehra had to submit a petition stating that she had 'resigned from the organization's membership' and that she 'wanted to leave the relevant organization ward'. The lawyer of her, Olguner Olgun, applied to the ECtHR, arguing that Zehra's "presumption of innocence" was violated.
According to the BirGün Daily report, after the application, the ECtHR forwarded it to the Turkish government. Reportedly, the government submitted the dismissal of the application by issuing a "unilateral declaration" to resolve the problems arising from the case. In the aforementioned declaration, Turkey acknowledged that the “presumption of innocence” of the journalist was violated and stated to pay a compensation of 1,350 Euros to Zehra Doğan.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the ECtHR decision. However, we urge the Turkish authorities that prosecuting journalists on bogus charges is unacceptable. Journalists must freely do their job. 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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