Charged with "terrorism propaganda," journalist Öksüz said, “I read the indictment and all I could do was laugh. The indictment was vapid and read like a stage play”

NİMET ÖLMEZ, HAKKARİ

The 61st and final hearing in trial of 14 defendants, including the shut-down Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Hamdiye Çiftçi Öksüz, who was standing trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Hakkâri 1stHigh Criminal Court on 5 June 2024. In addition to Çiftçi, Hakkâri co-mayor and member of the DEM Party Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was detained and replaced by an appointed public administrator on 3 June, was on trial on charges of “administrating a terrorist organization,” “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda.”

Öksüz, who was free pending trial did not attend the hearing. Akış, who was in custody, was brought to the courthouse.

The court sentenced Öksüz to 6 years and 3 months of imprisonment for the crime of “membership in a terrorist organization” and banned her from travelling abroad. Akış was sentenced to 19 years and 6 months of imprisonment for the crime of “administrating a terrorist organization.”

Speaking to Expression Interrupted after the ruling, Öksüz said that the sentencing was a completely political decision. Stating that the intention was to punish her reporting and journalism in general, Öksüz continued, “It just so happens that our re-trial took pace after 14 years. This is a completely political decision. My sentencing is a punishment issued to journalism. In fact, the indictment includes the news I covered and my interviews with news sources. I do not accept these charges or this sentence. This ruling and sentence is not lawful, it is not constitutional.”

Journalist Öksüz had written the following about the case in an article that was published in the Yeni Yaşamnewspaper on 4 June:

“The entire indictment against us, which is 845 pages long, consists of phone tapping records and the false statements of secret witnesses. It is a show trial in which publishing images (images of Cüneyt Ertuş, whose arm was broken by the police), following press statements and obtaining images of them are depicted as crimes. The case is vapid inside and out. We could say that the AKP has turned to this case, in which even local courts could find no crime, as a political opportunity with little to go until the expiry of the statute of limitations. Legally, cases which last 15 years are dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Another important issue is that the prosecutor who filed the indictment against us was revealed to be a congregation member.”

“The indictment read like a stage play”

Öksüz went on as follows: “It has been 14 years. Generally, almost all KCK cases ended with sentencing, but our case was constantly adjourned because it was so empty. There have been 20 panels of judges, each passing the case on to the other so that they would not be responsible for the outcome. It became so that the hearings were being held once every six months. This is because the case was devoid of content. Why would it have been kept waiting for so long had there been a legally established crime?

“After the hearing held six months ago (in December 2023), with three days to go until the hearing on 23 May 2024, my lawyer called me and said, ‘The indictment requests sentencing for all defendants for the crimes of membership in a terrorist organization and terrorism propaganda.’ I read the indictment and all I could do was laugh. The indictment was vapid and read like a stage play. It had been so rushed that even those who prepared it did not understand what they were doing. While all other defendants were given a few pages in the indictment, one can see that special attention was paid to elected co-mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış.”