Deniz Tekin
A court in southeastern Turkey declined to lift a seven-year-long travel ban on journalist Hatice Şahin during the second hearing of her retrial on terrorism-related charges. The hearing took place on June 17 at the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court.
Şahin, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Yeni Yaşam newspaper, did not attend the hearing. Her attorney, Bahar Oktay, was present and requested the removal of the international travel ban imposed on Şahin since October 9, 2018. Oktay argued the ban was hindering her client’s ability to carry out her journalistic work.
The court, citing pending correspondence regarding the potential merger of Şahin’s case with a related file at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, ordered that a new letter be sent to that court repeating the earlier request. The hearing had started nearly two hours late due to the court’s workload.
The prosecutor asked the court to address missing documents in the case file. Following deliberations, the court ruled to maintain the travel ban and rescheduled the next hearing for November 27, 2025.
Şahin was initially sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.” However, an appellate court overturned the conviction, leading to a retrial.
