Turkey: CFWIJ Condemns Journalist Perihan Kaya’s Prison Sentence And Demands Her Immediate Acquittal
Location: Turkey, Diyarbakir
Date: March 24, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The first hearing of the trial against journalist Perihan Kaya on terrorism charges was held in Diyarbakır today. The court sentenced the journalist to one year and three months in prison for "spreading terrorist propaganda". The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the unjust charges given by the judiciary to silence the journalists. We demand Perihan’s acquittal immediately.
The first hearing of the trial against former Jin News reporter Perihan Kaya on charges of "being affiliated with an armed terrorist organization" and "spreading terrorist propaganda through the press and media" was held today at the Diyarbakır 10th High Criminal Court. The court sentenced the journalist to one year and three months in prison.
According to MLSA's report, the journalist’s membership of the Free Journalists Association (ÖGC), social media posts, telephone calls with her colleagues and secret witness statements, were taken as evidence. The journalist was accused of being responsible for the KCK organization’s Press Area", "organizing propaganda" and "being a member of an armed terrorist organisation”. Journalist Perihan Kaya and her lawyer Resul Temur attended the hearing held today. The journalist made her defence at the court, emphasized that she was a journalist in Diyarbakır and rejected the confidential witness statements and accusations against her.
Perihan Kaya, who was asked whether she attended the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) at the court, stated that she followed DTK press statements as a journalist. Stating that she knows her colleagues Kibriye Evren, Hatice Şahin and Savaş Aslan with whom she had a telephone conversation, the journalist said, the secret witness statements that they had received instructions from the members of the organization were unfounded. The journalist also added that her social media account belongs to her and that the posts she shared do not constitute a crime.
Resul Temur, the lawyer of the journalist, presented the same confidential witness testimony to the court authority that they were acquitted of Esra Solin Dal and Savaş Aslan in the same trial. Temur requested the court to be included in the file as a whole for the examination of the confidential witness statements named Firar and Ezel. Besides, the lawyer stated that his client Perihan Kaya's social media posts were made for news purposes, and the posts were not criminal.
After a short break, the court acquitted journalist Perihan Kaya of the charge of “being a member of an armed terrorist organization", and sentenced her to one year and three months in prison over the journalist's posts on social media with the charge of "spreading terrorist propaganda". Journalist Perihan Kaya and her lawyer announced that they will apply for an appeal for the sentence.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the prison sentence given to journalist Perihan Kaya and demands the journalist's immediate acquittal. These sanctions for journalistic activities are unacceptable. We believe that these attempts to silence journalists overshadow press freedom. We demand environments where journalists can write freely without being threatened by legal persecution.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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