Deniz Tekin
A Turkish journalist is standing trial over comments he made about government inaction during the 2023 earthquakes, in a case that has raised fresh concerns about press freedom in the country. Journalist Ahmet Kanbal, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency, is charged with “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), a controversial provision introduced in 2022 and widely criticized as a tool for censorship.
Kanbal is being tried at the Adıyaman 5th Criminal Court of First Instance for comments he made during a live broadcast from the southeastern Turkish city of Adıyaman following the massive earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on Feb. 6, 2023. As part of the legal process, a procedural hearing was held at the Mardin 1st Criminal Court of First Instance, where Kanbal and his lawyer appeared in person.
Rejecting the charges in his defense statement, Kanbal said he was among the first journalists to arrive in Adıyaman after the earthquake. “I reported what I saw in Adıyaman during the broadcast,” he said. “For three days, I did not see a single state institution on the ground, and I shared this. Even the President, when he visited Adıyaman, apologized and said, ‘We left you alone for the first three days.’ This confirms the accuracy of my report. What I did was journalism. Article 217/A is a censorship article and should be abolished.”
Kanbal’s lawyer, Erdal Kuzu, said he would submit documents proving that his client is a journalist, as well as news reports highlighting the lack of state response during the first three days after the disaster. Emphasizing that Article 217/A is arbitrarily enforced as a censorship law, Kuzu stated: “This article targets the public’s right to accurate news. My client conveyed what was happening in Adıyaman to the public. Not only has the accuracy of the news not been disproven, but thanks to these broadcasts, the state responded more quickly to victims. The news served the public interest. We are requesting an acquittal.”
The court ruled to close the instruction file and transfer it to the main case file being heard by the Adıyaman 5th Criminal Court of First Instance. The second hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026.
Background
The Mardin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had previously launched an investigation into the same broadcast, accusing Kanbal of “spreading terrorist propaganda,” but ultimately dropped that case. However, the Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office later filed a separate indictment against him for “publicly disseminating misleading information,” seeking a prison sentence of up to three years.
The indictment cited Kanbal’s statements during the live broadcast as criminal evidence, including:
“I’m at the Adıyaman Crisis Coordination Center. Volunteers are working. Since yesterday, the response has been inadequate. Foreign teams arrived first, then AFAD (Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority). People here were left to die for three days. State mechanisms completely collapsed. AFAD volunteers are taking selfies in front of the rubble. If the area is left to the mercy of the state, disaster is inevitable.”
Prosecutors argued that such statements could cause fear and concern among the public.
