Turkey: İzmir Court Adjourned Journalist Ruken Demir’s Case For The Eighth Time
Location: Turkey, İzmir
Date: January 12, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The eighth hearing of the trial against journalist Ruken Demir was held in İzmir. The prosecutor, who submitted his opinion to the court, requested that the journalist be sentenced, claiming she was a member of a terrorist organization. The court adjourned the next hearing to February 9, 2022, giving additional time for the defendant to prepare the defense against the opinion. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the sentence requested against Ruken over her journalistic activities. Journalism is not a crime.
Ruken is accused of “being a member of an armed terrorist organization”. The case against her is based on interviews she conducted for news reports on hunger strikes in prisons and inmate conditions. Arrested in November 2019, Ruken was released after 115 days of harsh detention, wherein she was subjected to inhumane treatment and police brutality.
The trial in which Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Ruken Demir continued today at the Izmir 19th High Criminal Court. The lawyer of the journalist Zafer İncin represented Ruken at the court. Due to the change of the court board, the court records of the previous hearings were read again. Following the court records, Zafer İncin took the floor and stated that the digital materials seized in the office where Ruken was detained did not belong to the journalist and that the investigation report of those would not contribute to the case. Reminding that journalist Melike Aydın, who was arrested and prosecuted as part of the simultaneous operation with Ruken, was acquitted, the lawyer requested the same decision for his client.
The prosecutor submitted his opinion to the court board and claimed that the journalist's phone calls and the reports she covered were made for propaganda. He alleged that the documents belonging to the terror organization were found in the seized digital materials. He requested that Ruken be sentenced for being a member of an armed organization.
The court postponed the next hearing to February 9, 2022, giving journalist Ruken Demir and her lawyer additional time to prepare the defenses against the opinion.
Two journalists, Ruken and Melike, were arrested on November 16, 2019, after their homes were raided in simultaneous operations. Ruken was beaten by the police during her detention. She was also subjected to a strip search when she was delivered to the prison. The journalist faced inhumane living conditions and rights violations while in police custody. She was banned from sending and receiving letters. The authorities accused her of leaking information, even from behind the prison walls. Her left eye was also giving her trouble. Despite the prison doctor confirming her health issue, she was not able to transfer to a hospital.
After remaining 115-days behind bars, the journalist was eventually released conditionally with a travel ban on the first hearing held on March 6, 2020.
At previous hearings, the change of the court board and the Cyber Crime Bureau were cited as reasons for postponing her trial.
CFWIJ denounces the charges leveled against Ruken, a reporter at the Mezopotamya Agency, which is critical of the incumbent government. We believe Ruken is being prosecuted because of her critical reporting and demand that she be acquitted of all politically motivated charges. 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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