DENİZ TEKİN
In the trial concerning his journalistic activities, the court lifted the requirement for journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç to sign in at the police station, but it rejected his request to lift the international travel ban.
Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Mehmet Şah Oruç is facing charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "making terrorist propaganda" based on his news reports, social media posts, and a witness statement against him. The fourth hearing of his trial, where he faces up to 22.5 years in prison, took place at Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court.
The hearing was attended by Oruç and his lawyer Resul Temur, observed by the MLSA Case Monitoring Unit and Oruç's family.
The court documented the new evidence submitted since the last hearing. The prosecutor requested that the deficiencies in the case file be addressed.
Oruç argued that the judicial controls, including the travel ban and the requirement to sign in at the police station, hindered his journalistic work and requested their removal.
In his defense, lawyer Resul Temur presented acquittal rulings from other cases in Diyarbakır, where the testimony of informant Ümit Akbıyık, who had benefited from effective remorse, was deemed unreliable for verdicts. Temur highlighted the legal principle that statements from such informants should not be used as the basis for judgments and requested the lifting of judicial controls on Oruç.
The court decided to lift the requirement for Oruç to sign in at the police station but maintained the international travel ban. Additionally, the court issued a warrant to compel witness Refik Gültekin, who did not attend the hearing, to testify at the next session scheduled for September 26.
Case background
Mehmet Şah Oruç was detained on April 25, 2023, as part of a Diyarbakır-based investigation along with Mezopotamya Agency editor Abdurrahman Gök, reporters Ahmet Kanbal, Yeni Yaşam newspaper editor Osman Akın, Xwebûn newspaper owner Kadri Esen, JINNEWS reporter Beritan Canözer, and journalists Mehmet Yalçın and Salih Keleş. Oruç, Gök, and Canözer were arrested on April 27 on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization."
The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office prepared an indictment against Oruç based on an open witness statement, his news reports, and social media posts, accusing him of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "making terrorist propaganda." The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court referred the case to Bitlis, where Oruç resides, citing lack of jurisdiction.
The 63-page indictment accepted by Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court included witness statements from Ümit Akbıyık, 35 news articles authored by Oruç for MA, social media posts, and phone records with fellow journalists as evidence.
Oruç was not released at the initial hearing on September 14, 2023, due to case file deficiencies. He was released under judicial control at the second hearing on October 31.
