Eylem Sonbahar
Journalist Diren Yurtsever was acquitted on Friday by the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court in the first hearing of a case brought against him for a news report on the Kobanê trial, a politically sensitive case in Turkey involving dozens of Kurdish politicians and activists.
Yurtsever, who was being tried over a report titled “Confessors to testify in the Kobanê case” published while he served as managing editor of the Mezopotamya Agency, was accused of “disclosing or publishing the identities of informants” following a complaint by a witness in the Kobanê trial. The court ruled that the legal elements of the alleged offense were not present, resulting in his acquittal.
Appearing in court with his lawyers, Yurtsever defended the report as legitimate journalism. “The Kobanê case is followed by many journalists and international observers in Turkey. The person in question was not a secret witness but someone who initially appeared as a suspect and later testified under their real name. We did not expose any confidential information,” he said. “This is not a crime. I reject the accusation—this is journalistic activity.”
Yurtsever further noted that many other media outlets had published reports on the trial, and that the individual who filed the complaint was publicly named in open court sessions and official transcripts. “I don’t personally know the complainant. His name is already in the official court records,” he added.
Attorney Şule Recepoğlu, representing Yurtsever, emphasized that the news story reported on a public and ongoing legal case. “The individual’s name is in the court transcripts. If the names of the defendants are mentioned, so too can the names of the witnesses. Using the term ‘confessor’ is neither defamatory nor misleading. This is journalism, and we demand immediate acquittal,” she said.
Despite the defense, the prosecutor submitted an opinion requesting Yurtsever be punished under the charges. Responding to this, Yurtsever warned of broader implications: “If I am convicted in this case, it sets a precedent for prosecuting many journalists. This is part of press freedom and cannot be criminalized.” His lawyer also criticized the lack of legal reasoning in the prosecutor’s request, saying, “We would have liked to see an actual justification in the opinion.”
The court ultimately ruled that the accusation did not meet the criteria for a criminal offense and acquitted Yurtsever.
The Kobanê trial, launched in connection with 2014 protests over Turkey’s stance during the Islamic State’s siege of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, has been a focal point for press freedom and political repression concerns in Turkey. Dozens of politicians from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) face charges in the case, which rights groups have described as politically motivated.
