The court has granted time to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of the final opinion on the case in the trial of journalist Kutlu, who is prosecuted over her social media posts regrading the Maraş earthquakes

ARDIL BATMAZ, DİYARBAKIR

The second hearing in the trial of Mezopotamya Agency reporter Berivan Kutlu, who is charged with “terrorism propaganda” over statements she allegedly made during a television broadcast she participated in after the 6 February 2023 earthquakes and her social media posts was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 29 January 2026.

Kutlu's lawyer, Resul Temur, was present at the hearing, which was followed by P24. Kutlu did not attend the hearing.

In the previous hearing, the court had decided that the video allegedly shared by Kutlu would be analyzed and the case file would be sent to the prosecutor's office for the preparation of the final opinion on the case.

Lawyer Temur made a statement regarding the 2 minute 59 second video recording examined by the police, as required by the interim decision issued in the previous hearing. Pointing out that the examined footage could be different footage, Temur requested that the confusion be cleared up: “The examined footage is 2 minutes and 55 seconds long, while the one sent by the police is 2 minutes and 59 seconds long. There is no video recording shared by the client.”

The prosecutor requested time to prepare their final opinion on the case. The court accepted the request and postponed the case until 14 April 2026.

Background of the case

An indictment was filed against journalist Berivan Kutlu on charges of “terrorism propaganda” as part of an investigation launched on the grounds of her television broadcasts from the region after the earthquake that struck Maras on 6 February 2023. The indictment prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was sent to Diyarbakır with a decision of lack of jurisdiction.

The indictment cited the following statements made by journalist Berivan Kutlu during the broadcast as grounds for the charges: "Actually, it is not a full-fledged search and rescue operation, but rather an effort to cover up the evidence. The village guards coming from Şırnak are driving people away. They have essentially left people to die."

In an open-source investigation conducted by law enforcement on the internet, some posts made by Kutlu on her social media account were also considered as evidence of the crime.