DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Journalist Fırat Can Arslan, who faces charges related to sharing information about the transfer of a prosecutor and his wife, is scheduled to appear before a judge on October 31. Arslan has been in custody for 84 days.
An indictment, dated September 25 and authored by Ahmet Faruk Karakuş, and accepted by Diyarbakır's 4th High Criminal Court, accuses Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Fırat Can Arslan of "targeting public officials involved in the fight against terrorism" for sharing information about the transfer of prosecutor Mehmet Karababa and his wife, Seda Karababa, a judge. Karababa had prepared an indictment against 18 journalists arrested in Diyarbakır in June 2022, alleging their links to PKK's media outlets. Sixteen of these journalists, detained for over a year, were released during the initial hearing. At the same hearing, it was revealed that Seda Karababa, a member judge on the court panel, is the wife of Mehmet Karababa, the prosecutor behind the indictment.
The Karababa couple was appointed by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) to the Vezirköprü Courthouse in Samsun on July 17, 2023. The indictment claims that journalist Arslan's social media post about the transfer exceeded the boundaries of press freedom and demands his sentencing under Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713, which criminalizes "targeting public officials who have taken part in the fight against terrorism."
Arslan's first hearing is set for October 31 at Diyarbakır's 4th High Criminal Court.
Background
Fırat Can Arslan, MA reporter Delal Akyüz, T24 editor Sibel Yükler, bianet editor Evrim Kepenek, and journalist Evrim Deniz were detained on July 25 after sharing a post on social media about the transfer of a prosecutor and judge couple. Journalist Arslan was arrested, while the other journalists were released.
Arslan became the first journalist arrested on charges of "targeting a public official involved in the fight against terrorism." He has been in solitary confinement in Sincan F Type Prison No. 1 for 84 days.
