MLSA - Koray Kesik, a documentary filmmaker, has been accused of being a member of a terrorist organization, according to MLSA Legal Unit, who are defending the filmmaker.
Kesik, who served as the director of photography for the documentary "Bakur" (North), completed his police questioning today (6 May) and is expected to appear before the Chief Prosecutor later today. He was first detained on May 2 on undisclosed charges.
The allegations against Kesik are related to his involvement in the "Bakur" documentary, which previously led to the conviction of journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and director Çayan Demirel in December 2023. Both were sentenced to 2 years and 13 months in prison for allegedly conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization. Last week, the Gaziantep Regional Court of Appeals upheld this decision.
During his interrogation at the police headquarters, Kesik was questioned about his work on "Bakur." Fatih Aydın, a lawyer from the MLSA Legal Unit representing Kesik, stated that after a four-hour interrogation, Kesik is scheduled to testify before the prosecutor this afternoon.
Background on Kesik's case
Kesik was detained during a raid in İzmir on the night of May 2, 2024. A confidentiality order has been placed on his case file. After a 24-hour communication ban expired, Kesik met with Fatih Aydın from the MLSA Legal Unit and spent four days in custody. MLSA lawyers challenged the search, detention orders, and the seizure of materials found at Kesik's home soon after his arrest.
About Koray Kesik
Born in 1971 in Giresun, Turkey, Koray Kesik began his career in 1993 as an assistant at VTR Research Production Management. He worked in various roles such as assistant, cameraman, and director of photography in documentaries, oral history projects, promotional films, and commercials until 2008. Since then, Kesik has been independently working as a director of photography on various documentary projects with different directors.
