An İstanbul court acquitted Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Esra Solin Dal and Mehmet Aslan of membership in a terrorist organization, while sentencing journalist Erdoğan Alayumat to prison for terrorism propaganda.
The İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court court sentenced Alayumat to one year and three months in prison for "making propaganda for a terrorist organization," but suspended the execution of the sentence. The journalists did not attend the hearing, where their defense lawyers were present.
During the hearing, the defense lawyers argued against the opinion on the merits presented by the prosecutor in the previous session, who had demanded convictions for all three journalists. Alayumat’s lawyer, Hazal Sürmeli, stated that her client is a journalist and the evidence in the case file consists entirely of news reports, which must be evaluated within the scope of freedom of expression.
Sürmeli added that MA, where Alayumat works, is an official organization. "The Constitutional Court, in a decision directly regarding Mezopotamya Ajansı, stated that 'the views of the publishing institution do not bind its employee.' Therefore, my client cannot be held responsible for the editorial policy of the institution he works for," Sürmeli said, demanding his acquittal.
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
13 December 2024
Lawyers Ayşe Özdemir and Habat Demircan also delivered separate defense statements for Dal and Aslan. The lawyers argued that the criteria established by the Court of Cassation for the crime of membership, such as continuity, diversity, intensity, inclusion in the hierarchical structure of an organization, and an organic bond, were not present.
"All news reports made are within the scope of press and expression freedom," Özdemir said. "The elements of organizational membership have not been formed. We demand acquittal."
Demircan also requested an acquittal, stating that there was no concrete or conclusive evidence regarding membership. "The scope of the file is entirely journalistic activity," Demircan said.
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Background
The case originated from an İstanbul-based investigation during which police detained the three journalists on Apr 23, 2024, in house raids. They were held in custody for three days and formally arrested on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization."
Prosecutors indicted the journalists on May 8, 2024, based the charges on press conferences the journalists monitored, the news articles they wrote, their communications with news sources, and their social media posts. The indictment included links to 65 articles by Dal, 41 by Aslan, and 20 by Alayumat.
The İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court ordered their release on the same day the indictment was completed, imposing an international travel ban and a house arrest. The prosecutor had requested their conviction on membership charges during a previous hearing on Apr 7. (HA/VK)
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