Medine Mamedoğlu
The travel ban continuing on 19 journalists being tried due to their professional activities was once again not lifted.
Diyarbakır – The eighth hearing of the case in which 19 journalists and press workers are being tried on charges of “membership in an organization” and “propaganda for an organization,” within the scope of an investigation carried out based in Diyarbakır, was held at Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court.
Among the defendants are journalists Serdar Altan, Mehmet Ali Ertaş, Aziz Oruç, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Ömer Çelik, Mazlum Doğan Güler, İbrahim Koyuncu, Neşe Toprak, Elif Üngür, Abdurrahman Öncü, Mehmet Şahin, Lezgin Akdeniz, Suat Doğuhan, Ramazan Geciken, Esmer Tunç, Mehmet Yalçın, and Kadir Bayram, as well as press workers Remziye Temel, Berivan Karatorak, and Servet Yiğen.
The hearing, which began with identity verification, was attended by lawyers Resul Temur, Ruşen Seydaoğlu, Bahar Oktay, and Gözde Engin, along with journalist Elif Üngür, one of the defendants. The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), and law students from the University of Amsterdam were also present in the courtroom as observers.
Üngür's defense
Speaking first at the hearing, journalist Elif Üngür stated that she had nothing to add to her defense statements and did not make a new defense. Witness Melik Canbay, who appears in the case file as a witness, participated in the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBIS).
Witness Melik Canbay, who was asked about the names of the journalists, said that he did not know anyone except journalist Aziz Oruç and that he got to know Aziz Oruç through press and broadcasting activities. Canbay said that Aziz Oruç worked as a journalist in the region and was working for an agency. The witness said, “Other than this information, I have no information about him.”
After the witness, lawyer Resul Temur took the floor and pointed out that the witness statements revealed that Aziz Oruç was being tried in another case and had been acquitted from that trial.
Travel ban
Continuing his defense statement, lawyer Resul Temur stated that there is another case merged with the one involving his client Aziz Oruç, and they requested time to prepare a defense for that file. Temur reminded the court that the official letter sent to the police in the previous session had not yet been answered and requested that the court ask about that letter. Additionally, he requested that the travel bans, which amount to de facto punishment for all his clients, be lifted. Stating that the families of two of his clients live abroad and that they cannot see their families because of the travel ban, Temur requested that a special decision be made for these individuals.
Then, the other lawyers who took the floor made similar statements and reiterated their request for the lifting of the travel bans imposed on their clients.
After the defense statements, the court panel rejected the requests for the lifting of the travel bans. The panel decided to address the missing issues and to inquire about the letter sent to the police, and adjourned the hearing to April 9 at 9:20 a.m.
