Dutch daily De Telegraaf’s correspondent Ralph Dekkers, whom MLSA represented in court, is acquitted at the hearing held today in the trial where he faced "defying the Military Restricted Zones and Security Zones Law No. 2565" charge. Dekkers who came to Turkey in 2015 to report on the influx of people who were fleeing the conflicts which at that time intensified around areas close to the Turkey-Syrian border, was detained in the Yayladağı district of Hatay on the grounds that he was "taking pictures in military zones". Dekkers was released shortly after he gave his statement, however he was later indicted for "defying the Military Restricted Zones and Security Zones Law No. 2565". Dekkers was acquitted at today’s hearing, which was held at the Yayladağı Criminal Court of First Instance.
Case background
De Telegraaf reporter Dekkers was detained in 2015 with his “fixer” Mehmet Faruk Aksakal on the grounds that they were "taking pictures at military zones". Dekkers, who was detained, was released shortly after he gave his statement. The prosecutor's office, which prepared an indictment within the scope of the investigation, demanded that Dekkers be punished for the crime of "violating the Military Forbidden Zones and Security Zones Law No. 2565". The indictment was accepted by the Yayladağ Criminal Court of First Instance, and the journalist's trial resumed there. Dekkers was detained at Istanbul Airport during a transit on his way to Tel Aviv. A hearing was held at the airport and, accompanied by the MLSA Legal Unit, Dekkers was released after the hearing. Three journalists, including İdris Sayılgan, who were represented by MLSA in courts, were also tried in different cases opened in Edirne on similar charges and were acquitted after a trial that lasted more than a year.
