Sevda Aydın, İzmir – Ahmet Kanbal, reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mesopotamia News Agency, appeared in court today facing charges of “making terrorist propaganda”, based on news reports he made regarding military operations in Syria and Turkey.
Kanbal appeared via digital feed in İzmir 2nd High Criminal Court for his first hearing. The charges agaınst Kanbal were prepared by Mersin Chief Public Prosecution Office, who are seeking a sentence of nine years in prison. The evidence against him consists of 31 news reports made by him regarding Turkish military operations in Afrin, Syria, rockets hitting Reyhanlı, Turkey and an interview he conducted with Şener Levent, editor-in-chief of Afrika newspaper.
“I am here because of various stories I reported during the Afrin operation,” noted Kanbal. “Afrin had been the only peaceful city in Syria for the last seven years. Why would it be a crime to oppose and tweet about the war waged in Afrin? These tweets and reports are journalistic work and they cannot be considered as crimes. If the prosecutor who prepared the indictment had read my tweets and reports, he would’ve seen that they were newsworthy.”
Kanbal argued that advocacy for peace is an integral part of war correspondence, and declared that “I will continue to be a peace journalist, even if I am tried for it. Journalism requires courage.”
Meral Kaban, the lawyer representing Kanbal, requested additional time to prepare Kanbal’s statement. The court granted the request and adjourned the hearing until February 26 2019.
Updated: November 27 2018
