Pınar Gayıp and Semiha Şahin are charged with “membership in a terrorist group” and “terrorism propaganda”

The latest hearing in the long-running trial of Etkin News Agency (ETHA) news editor Semiha Şahin and reporter Pınar Gayıp was held on 24 March at the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court.

The hearing, the 17th in the course of the trial, was monitored by P24 from the courtroom. Gayıp and Şahin did not attend.

The prosecutor submitted his final opinion on the case to the court two days before the hearing, on 22 March, asking the court to convict Gayıp and Şahin of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.” He cited the fact that Şahin and Gayıp work for ETHA, along with some of their social media posts and journalistic activities, as evidence to back up the charges.

Lawyers representing Şahin and Gayıp requested time to prepare their defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion. The court accepted the request, adjourning the trial until 26 May 2022.