JinNews reporter Kibriye Evren was detained on 9 October 2018 in Diyarbakır as part of a sweeping operation targeting more than 120 other people, including journalists, across nine provinces. All those taken into custody were detained based on anonymous tip-offs and secret witness statements.

Evren and 24 others detained as part of the operation were brought to the courthouse on 11 October 2018. Evren was jailed pending trial by a criminal judgeship of peace on the charge of "membership of a terrorist organization" and sent to the Diyarbakır D Type Prison.

Indictment

The indictment against Evren was issued in November 2018. In the 25-page document, Evren was accused of "membership of a terrorist organization" and "terrorism propaganda" based on secret witness statements. Evren’s social media posts and her overseas travels were held as evidence against her. The indictment alleged that the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) was an illegal organization and said membership in DTK was a criminal act.

The indictment was accepted by the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court.

The first hearing of Evren’s trial was held on 6 December 2018. Addressing the court for her defense statement during the hearing, Evren stated that the secret witness statements against her were not true and demanded her release. Issiuing an interim ruling in line with the prosecutor’s request, the court ruled for the continuation of Evren's detention on the grounds of "available evidence" and adjourned the trial until 10 January 2019.

Evren began a hunger strike on 16 December 2018.

The prosecutor submitted his final opinion of the case at the fifth hearing in May 2019, asking the court to sentence Evren to 20 years in prison on “membership of a terrorist organization" and "terrorism propaganda” charges.

During the hearing on 18 July 2019, the court ruled to inquire about a 2016 investigation launched against Evren by the Şanlıurfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for alleged "membership of a terrorist organization" and about a 2018 investigation file launched by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Release

Evren was released at the end of the eighth hearing of her trial on 12 November 2019 under an international travel ban.

The 10th hearing in her trial was held on 14 July 2020. The court ruled to ask the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office about a previous indictment and to have it sent to the court with a merger request. The court adjourned the trial until 26 November 2020, granting Evren a continuance for her defense statement against the accusation in a case file newly merged with the ongoing trial.

At the hearing on 26 November 2020, the court decided to request a copy of the indictment against Evren from the Mersin 2nd High Criminal Court and witness statements given about Evren in various investigations conducted in Antalya and Ağrı.

The next hearing of Evren’s trial is set for 9 March 2021.