Kurdish journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin were covering events in North and East Syria when they were killed in a Turkish drone strike in December 2024. Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin were both from Northern Kurdistan, but had been working for Kurdish media organisations in the autonomous region of North and East Syria for years. On 19 December, they were on their way back from a report about the fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed SNA mercenary troops on the Tishrin front on the Euphrates when their car, marked as a ‘press vehicle’, was deliberately targeted by a Turkish drone. The two journalists were killed instantly, while their driver was injured.
A lawsuit was filed against Mithat Yılmaz, former provincial administrator of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) in Mardin, due to a slogan chanted during a condolence visit attended by thousands of people in memory of the two journalists in the Midyat district. Yılmaz was accused of “spreading propaganda for an illegal organization”, meaning the PKK.
The indictment used the terms “organization member” for the journalists and “so-called condolence” for condolence visits.
During the hearing held at the Mardin 3rd Heavy Penal Court on Tuesday, Yılmaz was not present, and was represented by his lawyer, Ferhat İbrahimoğlu.
The lawyer recalled that the journalists had been killed by a drone attack while doing their job in North-East Syria. He emphasized that there was no final court decision for the slain journalists, and requested his client’s acquittal.
Despite the defense, the court sentenced Yılmaz to 10 months in prison. The sentence was suspended with a decision to defer the pronouncement of the judgment.
Background
While the families of the two journalists made repeated attempts to retrieve their bodies and bury them in their hometowns in Northern Kurdistan, the AKP-MHP government denied permission for the repatriation of their remains.
Initially, it was announced that the bodies of the two journalists would be transferred from Qamishlo to the Nusaybin district of Mardin to be handed over to their families. When the families arrived at the Qamishlo border, they were informed that the bodies would not be given to them. The families were then told that the remains would be transferred from Rojava to Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) via the Sêmalka Border Crossing.
In light of the information provided to them, a delegation, including the families of Daştan and Bilgin, took action to cross into Southern Kurdistan through the Habur Border Crossing in Silopi district of Şırnak.
When their passage was obstructed by Turkish authorities, the delegation began a sit-in in protest. Despite two days of demonstrations, the AKP-MHP government refused to allow the passage of the delegation to retrieve the bodies. Given the situation, the families decided that Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin should be laid to rest in Qamishlo.
The two journalists were laid to rest at the Şehîd Delîl Saroxan Cemetery of Martyrs in Qamishlo on 11 January.