Değer, who was imprisoned pending trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” on 7 February 2025, was released at the end of his first hearing on 22 May

FERİD DEMİREL

Öznur Değer, the news director of JinNews, who was imprisoned pending trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” on 7 February 2025 at the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court and released at the first hearing on 22 May, stated that the judicial control decisions are an application aimed at removing journalists from their profession.

Speaking to Expression Interrupted, Değer said: “This is a deliberate policy. Judicial control measures are one aspect of a strategy aimed at wearing journalists down, exhausting them, and rendering them unable to work. Our whereabouts are known, our places of residence are known, we are people in the public eye. Whenever we are summoned to give a statement, we go on our own two feet to do so. For years, our colleagues have been threatened with house arrest and prevented from practicing their profession in one way or another. We are actually exposed to many different things, and there is also a psychological dimension to this. A journalist who has been under house arrest for a long time may struggle to develop personally and may also experience shortcomings in their professional development, particularly in terms of following up on news stories and developments they wish to cover, due to their inability to go out into the field. In this sense, judicial control measures imposed on us, whether in the form of a signature requirement, a ban on leaving the country, or house arrest, are seriously preventing us from doing our work. Of course, we will not give up. We will continue to resist and fight against these decisions of the judiciary and to carry out our press activities everywhere.

“I have never seen such a raid before”

Değer interpreted the reopening of this case, which had previously been dismissed, and the decision to jail her as a “revenge operation.” Değer, who was threatened and targeted on social media by anonymous accounts and then sent to prison, said that all of this was related to her reaction to the police on 22 December.

"I have been targeted and threatened many times before because of my news reports. I was arrested and my home was raided because of my news reports, but I can say that this is the first time I have seen and experienced such a raid. That is why I used the term 'revenge.' The way my home was raided, the way my family was treated, the way I was treated, the entire series of torture, what I endured throughout the day—all of this led me to believe that I was subjected to a serious revenge operation and that I was arrested as a result.”

“Female journalists are exposed to different things in the field”

Recalling the harassment committed by Hanifi Zengin, a police chief who came to prominence in İstanbul for harassing female journalists, and a security branch chief in Ankara who used the same methods against women protesters, Değer drew attention to the policy of impunity: “When the perpetrator is someone in uniform, unfortunately, we are faced with the impunity policy we have been talking about for years, and instead of the uniformed male perpetrator being punished, we are faced with the perpetrator's crime or immoral act being blamed on the woman. Women who speak out about the harassment they have been subjected to are left under judicial harassment and threats. In a way, her will is being broken. A message is being sent to all women who resist and to other social circles through her.”

“In news coverage, female journalists are exposed to very different things than male journalists in the field. On the one hand, they may be exposed to many things by their colleagues, and on the other hand, they may be exposed to many things by news sources and perpetrators, that is, perpetrators of violence, abuse, rape, and other male perpetrators.”

However, journalist Değer believes that her arrest is not only related to this incident. According to her, this arrest is a response to the reactions shown by journalists who stood up for journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, who were killed by a drone attack in Syria.

A total of 114 people, including 31 journalists, were detained for protesting the killing of Bilgin and Daştan. Nine people, including seven journalists, were imprisoned pending trial. An investigation was also launched against journalist Seyhan Avşar, who shared information about Bilgin and Daştan, the T24 news website that reported on the incident, and 10 lawyers from the İstanbul Bar Association who issued a statement.

Regarding the detentions and imprisonments, Değer said, “This was actually a sign of discomfort with the public reaction that followed their murders. In this sense, the fact that everyone who mentions Cihan and Nazım, who protests their massacre, and who expresses that those responsible must be held accountable is being punished in different ways, subjected to different forms of judicial harassment and threats, actually constitutes the highest point of this revenge operation.”

On 21 October 2025, Değer will appear before the judge again, and a new indictment was served to her at the prison gate. On 22 December 2024, the Mardin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against Öznur Değer on charges of “insulting a public official.” The indictment accepted by the Midyat Criminal Court of First Instance did not include the sexist insults directed at Değer. Her response to these insults was deemed “insulting a public official.” This case will be heard on 24 October 2025, at the Midyat 1st Criminal Court of First Instance.

Regarding the criminal complaint filed by Değer on 23 December 2024, against the police officer who made sexist remarks and those who threatened and insulted her on social media, a decision was quickly made that there was “no basis for prosecution.”

On 22 December 2024, while attending a condolence event in Midyat, Mardin, for journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, who were killed in a drone attack in Syria on 19 December, JinNews News Director Öznur Değer was subjected to sexist remarks by a police officer and came to the forefront of the news for her reaction to the police officer. Afterwards, Değer was arrested during a raid on her home on 7 February. The journalist, who was initially sent to Mardin Prison, was later transferred to Erzincan Women's Closed Prison. On 22 May 2025, at the end of her first hearing, she was released under the conditions of an international travel ban and judicial supervision.