Deniz Tekin
11 June - Journalist Abdurrahman Gök, who requested permission to travel to Palestine to cover ongoing military operations by Israel, was denied the removal of his travel ban by the court. The court also decided to hear a confidential witness in the case.
The fourth hearing of Abdurrahman Gök, an editor at Mezopotamya Agency (MA), who is being tried on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terrorist propaganda," was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. Gök, along with his lawyer Resul Temur, attended the hearing, which was also observed by DİSK Basın-İş Diyarbakır Regional Representative Hakkı Boltan and other journalists. Civil police officers were present in the courtroom as well.
The prosecutor requested that the deficiencies in the case file be addressed. Lawyer Resul Temur reminded the court that the statement of the confidential witness was taken between sessions, arguing that this was against the principle of directness and that the defense could not directly question the witness. Temur demanded that the witness be heard directly in court instead of through instructions.
Temur highlighted that his client, Abdurrahman Gök, has worked as a journalist in conflict zones such as Iraq, Syria, and Iran, and expressed his desire to report on the military operations in Palestine. However, he is unable to leave the country due to the travel ban. Temur requested the lifting of the travel ban to allow Gök to perform his journalistic duties.
Abdurrahman Gök stated that he has been reporting from conflict zones for many years and that the travel ban prevents him from carrying out his profession.
The court ruled to continue the travel ban and scheduled the next hearing for October 22. The confidential witness will be heard at the next session.
**About the case**
The investigation, based in Diyarbakır, led to the arrests of journalists Abdurrahman Gök, Mehmet Şah Oruç, Mikail Barut, and Beritan Canözer during house raids on April 25. Journalists Ahmet Kanbal, Murat Bayram, and later Hakkı Boltan and Ferhat Çelik were released under judicial control measures. Beritan Canözer was released on June 23.
The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against Abdurrahman Gök, charging him with "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terrorist propaganda." The indictment cited articles published by Gök in Mezopotamya Agency, book reviews, books found in his library, SGK records showing his insurance paid by MA, phone calls with other journalists, social media posts, and book promotions as evidence.
Among the evidence listed were a letter Gök wrote to then-Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül for the release of a prisoner and the book "Dağdakiler: Bagok'tan Gabar'a 26 Gün" by journalist Kadri Gürsel.
