Location: Turkey, Istanbul  
Date: May 12, 2022

Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe

The eighth hearing of the trial against journalist Sadiye Eser was held in Istanbul on Thursday. The prosecutor submitted his opinion to the court and sought the conviction of journalists Sadiye Eser and her colleague from Mesopotamia Agency (MA) on “membership of terror organization”. The court gave additional time to the defendants to finalize their defenses against the charges. The next hearing was adjourned until September 8.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the prosecution’s accusation against the journalists. These practices which curb press freedom must come to an end. We demand that Turkish authorities demand an immediate acquittal of Sadiye and her colleague. 

Sadiye was detained after leaving the MA’s office on November 29, 2019, and was arrested on December 2, 2019, over a charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization". She was released conditionally after four months at the first hearing which was held on March 26, 2020.

In the indictment of the case, Sadiye’s travels abroad were cited as evidence, her resistance to inform the police about the password of her mobile phone which was seized by the police during her detention was accepted as "organizational behavior". Also, Kurdish songs in the journalist's MP3 player were counted among the evidence in the indictment.

The eighth hearing of the trial against journalist Sadiye Eser and Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Sadık Topaloğlu was held today at the Istanbul 22nd High Criminal Court. Sadiye’s lawyer Özcan Kılıç represented the journalist in court. 

According to Eylem Sonbahar from the Media and Legal Studies Association (MLSA), the prosecutor demanded that Özgür Baran, who was shown as a witness in the case and did not attend any hearing, should not be involved in the case. Özcan Kılıç also agreed with the request and added that the witness would not contribute any elements to the case. After the other defendant's lawyer made the same request, the court unanimously decided not to listen to the witness in the case. 

The defendants’ lawyers also demanded the judicial control measures of the journalists be lifted. The prosecution, on the other hand, repeated the previous accusations against journalists and asked the journalists be sought a conviction on "membership in a terrorist organization". The court, which gave the defendants additional time to complete the defenses, adjourned the hearing until September 8. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the legal harassment against journalists. Anti-terror laws must not be weaponized against critical voices. We demand that Turkish authorities demand an immediate acquittal of the journalists from all charges.

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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