Güler's lawyer Murat Timur, who visited him in prison, said his client was thankful to all his colleagues who showed solidarity with him

NİMET ÖLMEZ, VAN

Mehmet Sıddık Güler, the chief editor of news portal Serhat News, was imprisoned in the eastern province of Van this week after the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld his sentence of 2 years, 4 months and 3 days in prison handed down in 2018 on the charge of "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization."

Güler, who should have been sent to an open prison, is still being held in Van T-Type Prison as of 22 December, Güler's lawyer Murat Timur said. Timur, who visited Güler in prison, said his client thanked all his colleagues who showed solidarity with him.

Lawyer Timur, who spoke to Expression Interrupted about Güler's imprisonment and trial process, said that Güler was sentenced by the Van 4th High Criminal Court on 24 January 2018 to 2 years and 4 months in prison for violating Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713. The accusation against Güler was based on the content of several Facebook posts that he shared between 2014 and 2016 and included links to news items.

According to Timur, after the Van 4th High Criminal Court’s judgment was upheld in 2019, Güler was detained in the Van T-Type Prison for about seven months and then transferred to Van Open Prison. Meanwhile, his lawyer requested a stay of execution on the grounds of amendments in relevant legislation and an appeal review of the file by the Supreme Court of Appeals. When the request was deemed appropriate, the execution was halted, and the file was sent to the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The Supreme Court of Appeals, which examined the case, ruled that the conviction of Güler by the Van 4th High Criminal Court should be upheld.

Güler expected to be transferred to an open prison

Stating that Güler is expected to be transferred to an open prison, Timur continued: “After the Supreme Court of Appeals judgment was entered into the National Judiciary Informatics System [UYAP], we applied to the Van Directorate of Writs and Executions on 18 December 2023 for the commencement of the execution procedures for Güler. While he was supposed to be admitted to the Van Open Prison, he was instead sent to the Van T Type Prison. After talks with the Execution Prosecutor's Office and the Execution Judgeship, we were informed that Güler would be transferred to Van Open Prison.”

"Thankful for solidarity"

Stating that he met with Güler at the Van T Type Prison twice since his imprisonment, Timur said that his client has been granted access to medications that he regularly uses to manage his ongoing health problems.

He also underlined that Güler was grateful for the support he received following his imprisonment. “He asked me to convey his messages of gratitude to all NGOs, journalists associations and political parties that showed solidarity, especially his colleagues,” Timur said.

Noting that Güler had been convicted because of Facebook posts that contain links to news articles he wrote, Timur said that the court’s refusal to deem the posts that Güler had shared as news items was unacceptable from a legal viewpoint.

Stating that the posts in question should be evaluated within the scope of freedom of expression and of the media, Timur said, “The government, which sees the opposition media institutions as a danger, wants to silence the press by using the judiciary as a tool. As a matter of fact, with this understanding, a harsh policy has been pursued against the Kurdish media since the 1990s. Kurdish journalists have been murdered or arrested while carrying out journalistic activities and given heavy prison sentences. However, despite all these harsh practices, the Kurdish press has continued its struggle and played an important role in the democratic struggle and has always been a hope for the society with this struggle.”

37 journalists in prison

Following Güler's imprisonment, the number of journalists jailed pending trial or serving a conviction increased to 37. The full list can be accessed here.