In the trial of journalists charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda,” the court ruled for the return of digital materials

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU BAYRAM, DİYARBAKIR

The seventh hearing in the trial of 19 journalists, who were jailed on 16 June 2022 as part of an investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” (TMK 7/2) was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 18 September 2025.

The journalists on trial, Ömer Çelik, Neşe Toprak, and Elif Üngür, along with their lawyers Rasul Tamur, Gözde Engin, and Ruşen Seydaoğlu, attended the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Journalist Aziz Oruç's lawyer, Hazal Sümeli, participated in the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from İstanbul. The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) and journalists also observed the hearing.

Aziz Oruç: “We continue to practice journalism”

The hearing began with the identification of the defendants, and journalist Aziz Oruç was the first to speak: "Someone named Melik Canbey made statements. Based on his statements, an indictment was filed for ‘membership in a terrorist organization.’ Everything that was said there is part of my journalistic activities. I am a journalist, and I did what any journalist would do. I did not interview or meet with any organization members. The statements this person claims to have made are untrue. This trial continues during a period when the century-old Kurdish question is being discussed, which has been ongoing for nearly a year. On 11 July, weapons were burned in Sulaymaniyah, but due to my international travel ban, I was unable to cover this development as a journalist."

Emphasizing that he was detained for 11 months on the same allegations in a previous case, Oruç continued: "Then, because no evidence was found, I was first released and finally acquitted. I do not know this person and have never seen him. I am a journalist, and we have said this many times. Even though it is difficult to convey the truth, even though there is a price to pay, we continue to say this. Despite everything, I continue to pursue this profession in the same way.“

”I am where I am to speak the truth,“ said Oruç, concluding with the following: ”It is a little sad that these false allegations have turned into an indictment. At this point, judicial control decisions are making it very difficult for us professionally. The measures taken have turned into a punishment. I want my travel ban to be lifted.“

Journalist Ömer Çelik then took the floor, repeating his previous statements and demanding that the travel ban be lifted.

Witnesses: ”We have not seen the journalists and do not know them"

The court then heard the individuals listed as witnesses in the case file. The first to be heard said, “I have no knowledge of the case file. I do not know the journalists present here. I was previously tried on the charge of ‘membership in a terrorist organization.’ I do not remember the names I gave in the context of effective repentance in this case. I am hearing the names you mentioned for the first time. I have not previously made any statements regarding these names.”

Another witness who participated in the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system stated: “I do not remember the names you mentioned. I only gave an interview to Serdar Altan once. I was summoned to testify because of the interview I gave, but the investigation was dismissed.”

The court panel took a five-minute break during the hearing, which continued with witness statements.

Lawyer Resul Temur: “The travel ban is causing hardship”

Lawyer Resul Temur argued that the witnesses who had been heard were not relevant to the case and requested that the hearing of other witnesses be discontinued. Temur also pointed out that the digital materials obtained from journalists no longer constituted evidence and requested that a letter be sent to the police to have the equipment returned to the individuals. Finally, drawing attention to the travel ban, Temur said, “This situation puts our clients in a difficult position, both professionally and in terms of health. For this reason, we request that the travel bans be lifted.”

The trial was adjourned until 20 January

While the other lawyers participating in the hearing did not make a statement, the court adjourned the case until 20 January 2026. The court rejected the request to lift the ban on leaving the country but accepted the request for the return of digital materials.

The names of the journalists on trial are as follows: Abdurrahman Öncü, Aziz Oruç, Berivan Karatorak, Elif Zilan Öngör, Esmer Tunç, Kadir Bayram, Lezgîn Akdeniz, Mazlum Güler, Mehmet Yalçın, Mehmet Ali Ertaş, Mehmet Servet Yiğen, Neşe Toprak Bayram, Ramazan Geciken, Remziye Andan, Rohat Bulut, Serdar Altan, Suat Doğuhan, Ömer Çelik, and İbrahim Koyuncu.

Background of the case

Some production companies in Diyarbakır were raided by the police on 8 June 2022 over claims that they were shooting programs and producing content for the Stêrk TV and Medya Haber TV channels, which broadcast abroad. Several journalists, whose homes and workplaces were also searched by the police, were detained as part of the investigation. The police took a month to search the premises of the production companies.

The police presented video cameras and news materials confiscated during the searches as “evidence of terrorist organization’s activity” and provided images of these to the press. Sixteen journalists were imprisoned pending trial on 16 June 2022.

The Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor’s Office filed a 728-page long indictment against the 18 journalists on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda.” At the end of the first hearing held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 11-12 July 2023, 16 Kurdish journalists and press workers were released with a ban on travelling abroad after 13 months in detention.

With the addition of four individuals to the case, the number of journalists on trial rose to 20. Later, journalist Mehmet Şahin's case was separated from the file at the sixth hearing and merged with another case file heard at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. With this decision, the number of journalists on trial fell to 19