Eylem Sonbahar
The trial of Mezopotamya Agency reporters Esra Solin Dal and Mehmet Aslan, along with journalist Erdoğan Alayumat, was postponed on Friday by the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court to Sept. 11, after the court decided to request updates on ongoing investigations concerning two of the defendants.
The case marks the third hearing in a trial where all three journalists are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization,” a common accusation used by Turkish authorities against reporters, particularly those working for Kurdish media outlets. Dal and Aslan work for Mezopotamya Agency (MA), a pro-Kurdish news agency frequently targeted by Turkish prosecutors. Erdoğan Alayumat is being represented by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a legal advocacy group for journalists.
The journalists did not attend the hearing in person. Instead, they were represented by attorney Şükrü Alpsoy and Hazal Sümeli from MLSA’s legal team. The court accepted requests to address procedural deficiencies and ruled to send formal inquiries to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the status of open investigation files involving Alayumat and Aslan.
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11 at 9:35 a.m.
The journalists were originally detained on April 23, 2024, in a series of coordinated police raids conducted in Istanbul as part of an investigation into their reporting activities. They were held in custody for three days before being brought before a judge and arrested on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.” All three were released from pre-trial detention on May 21, 2024.
Their arrests and prosecution are part of a broader pattern in Turkey, where journalists—particularly those reporting on Kurdish issues or affiliated with independent outlets—face frequent legal harassment. Rights organizations and press freedom groups have repeatedly criticized the use of anti-terror laws to suppress dissent and criminalize journalism.
