Another Kurdish journalist convicted of “terror propaganda” in Turkey

Kurdish journalist Durket Süren has been sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment for alleged terror propaganda. The verdict against the correspondent of the all-women news agency JinNews, pronounced by a court in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) after two years of proceedings, is based on posts on Twitter that date back to 2014 and allegedly refer to the fight of the YPG/YPJ against ISIS. However, Süren does not have to go to prison as the sentence was suspended for five years.

The case against Durket Süren was brought by the Turkish police’s counter-terrorism centre in Amed. In March 2018, the journalist was initially arrested on a warrant at the entrance to Lice district and interrogated for four days about her Twitter posts. Almost a year later, Süren was charged with propaganda and support for a “terrorist organisation” and support for the same. The journalist was acquitted of the latter charge, which was based, among other things, on her possession of Kurdish-language newspapers.

Süren’s defence argued in court that the evidence against the journalist – in this case screenshots – had been collected illegally. According to a ruling by the Constitutional Court, accounts on digital networks could not be searched by the police for alleged criminal offences without a corresponding decision by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Moreover, the incriminated content on Süren’s Twitter account predates the ban order against the YPG. The People’s Defense Units (YPG) have been listed as a “terrorist organisation” in Turkey since 25 May 2015.

In its decision, the court ignored Süren’s defence’s references to Turkish jurisprudence and sentenced the Kurdish woman to a total of one year, six months and 22 days in prison. The travel ban imposed on the journalist after her arrest almost three years ago was lifted.

Turkey – largest prison for journalists

Turkey is one of the most repressive countries in the world against media workers. According to a report published in early February by the Amed-based Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) on the state of press freedom, 65 journalists were in prison at the time. At least 48 other media workers are pending court cases, and the association expects prison sentences in most cases.