Deniz Tekin
A Turkish court has postponed the trial of journalist Mehmet Üçar, who faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization,” after deciding to seek the testimony of a key witness. The second hearing of the case was held at the 2nd High Criminal Court in Batman, a predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey.
Üçar, who previously spent 225 days in pretrial detention, did not attend the hearing. His lawyer, Şirin Şen, was present. A large number of riot police officers stood guard outside the courtroom.
During the session, both the defense and the prosecutor requested that missing elements in the case file be addressed. The court ruled to conduct an address search for Berfin Atlı, a witness scheduled to testify, and decided to maintain the existing travel ban imposed on Üçar. The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2026.
The charges against Üçar stem from his journalistic work for Yeni Özgür Politika, a Europe-based Kurdish-focused newspaper, and PolitikArt, a cultural magazine. He was among several journalists and media workers targeted in a widespread police operation on Nov. 26, 2024, launched as part of an investigation based in Eskişehir, a city in northwestern Turkey.
That operation saw raids on the homes of numerous individuals accused of contributing to Yeni Özgür Politika and PolitikArt through news articles, opinion pieces, and photographs. Among those detained were journalists Bilal Seçkin, Erdoğan Alayumat, Suzan Demir, Havin Derya, Serap Güneş, Tuğçe Yılmaz, Bilge Aksu, Ahmet Sünbül, and Mehmet Üçar, as well as Roza Metina, the president of the MKG (Mesopotamian Cultural Group), director Ardin Diren, cartoonist Doğan Güzel, writer Ömer Barasi, poet Hicri İzgören, Kurdish publishing coordinator Baver Yoldaş, academic Abdurrahman Aydın, photographer Emrah Kelekçiler, and Berfin Atlı.
While most of those detained were released under judicial supervision, journalists Hamza Kaan and Mehmet Üçar were formally arrested. Üçar was later released under judicial control, including a travel ban, following the first hearing on July 8, 2025.
The charges against him include his published news stories, payments received for freelance work, social media posts, phone records, witness statements, and books and magazines found during a search of his home. Initially handled by the 2nd High Criminal Court in Eskişehir, the case was transferred to Batman after that court declared a lack of jurisdiction.
