DENIZ TEKIN — Sedat Yılmaz, an editor at Mesopotamia Agency who was detained for 230 days over his journalistic activities, has been acquitted in the second hearing of his trial. The court also lifted the travel ban against him. Yılmaz was charged with "establishing and leading an organization" and "being a member of an organization," based on evidence including witness statements, records of entries and exits from the country, hotel registrations, bank transactions, his work with news agencies, and social media posts. The second hearing of the trial took place today, February 29, 2024, at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court, with Yılmaz's attorneys Resul Temur, Şule Recepoğlu, and Veysel Ok, co-director of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), present.
The session was observed by Deniz Tekin from MLSA, Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), journalist Abdurrahman Gök, Punto24, and numerous other journalists.
The prosecutor recommended a conviction for Yılmaz on charges of "being a member of an organization." Following this, journalist Sedat Yılmaz defended himself by presenting articles written by journalists who had accompanied him to Suruç, in Urfa, for news gathering, which the indictment had considered a criminal element. Yılmaz contested the credibility of anonymous witness testimonies and insisted he had not followed any orders, requesting his acquittal.
Şule Recepoğlu, one of Yılmaz's lawyers, claimed the accusations in the case file were unfounded, stating, "The activities and efforts of Sedat Yılmaz within his journalistic duties were seen as organizational crimes, leading to his prolonged detention. There is no evidence against our client; we demand his acquittal."
Veysel Ok, co-director of MLSA, criticized the investigation, Yılmaz's arrest, and the indictment as unlawful, arguing, "Sedat is someone who has dedicated his life to journalism. Like any journalist, he is a professional reporter. It's clear that he went to Iraq for journalism purposes. We presented the court with news articles published under his name. Phone conversations he had with fellow journalists and staying at the same hotel were presented as evidence of a crime. This is neither legally nor logically a crime. Not only Sedat but many journalists from national and international media covered the war happening at the border in Suruç. A journalist cannot be accused of following a war. We demand his acquittal."
Lawyer Resul Temur requested acquittal, referencing Article 9, Paragraph 8 of the Witness Protection Law, which states that anonymous witness testimony alone is not sufficient for conviction.
Following deliberation, the court announced its decision to acquit Yılmaz and lifted the international travel ban imposed on him.
Background:
Sedat Yılmaz and his spouse Sema Yılmaz, along with DFG Co-President Dicle Müftüoğlu, were detained during house raids in Diyarbakır on April 29, 2023, as part of an investigation led from Ankara. Yılmaz, who was subjected to mistreatment in custody, was pressured by police officers to become an informant. Journalists Yılmaz and Müftüoğlu were arrested on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against Yılmaz, demanding up to 37.5 years in prison for "establishing and leading an organization" and "being a member of an organization," with only four pages of the 44-page indictment pertaining to accusations against Yılmaz. Previously, Yılmaz had been under surveillance for the same charges for three years, with a decision of non-prosecution made in 2023.
The indictment cited Yılmaz's travels abroad, social media posts, news gathering trips to Urfa, hotel stays, bank transactions, and anonymous witness testimonies as evidence of crime. Among the evidence were call records and cell tower locations of conversations with journalist colleagues and his wife, and the lack of social security records since 2017.
Yılmaz's trip to Suruç in Urfa for news gathering was interpreted as "organizational activity." The absence of social security registration after 2016 and the lack of bank transfers after 2017 were deemed "contrary to the ordinary flow of life."
The indictment accused Yılmaz of producing propaganda for an organization through his work with Dicle News Agency (DİHA), Mesopotamia News Agency, and Fırat News Agency, and of meeting with organization leaders in Iraq through legal and illegal means. It was alleged that Yılmaz operated within the "Ideological Field Center of PKK/KCK," using his active social life as a cover to continue his activities in compliance with the organization's instructions and ideology.
The Ankara 28th High Criminal Court, which accepted the indictment, declared it lacked jurisdiction and transferred Yılmaz's case to Diyarbakır.
Yılmaz was released under judicial control with an international travel ban during the first hearing of the trial on December 14, 2023.
