By DENİZ TEKİN
Journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç, a reporter for Mezopotamya Agency (MA), remains under judicial control despite his legal team's request for its removal. Oruç, accused of "membership in an organization" and "making propaganda for an organization," faces up to 22.5 years in prison. The third hearing of his trial was held at the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court.
Oruç and his lawyer, Resul Temur, attended the hearing, along with Serdar Altan, Co-President of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), and representatives from MLSA's Trial Monitoring Unit. During the hearing, documents added to the case file since the last session were read into the record.
Witness Ümit Akbıyık, testifying via video link, claimed that Oruç frequently visited the HDP's Diyarbakır provincial building to conduct interviews with youth members. Akbıyık alleged that MA, where Oruç works, is a structure created by an organization and accused it of legally broadcasting the organization's policies. He also claimed that Oruç sent footage of hunger strike actions in Diyarbakır in 2019, which were then broadcast.
In response to the court's question about whether Oruç had any connection with the organization beyond his journalistic activities, Akbıyık replied, "No."
Lawyer Resul Temur questioned Akbıyık's credibility, noting that Akbıyık had provided statements against over 600 individuals and questioned the feasibility of such quick identifications. Temur also highlighted manipulative aspects of Akbıyık's testimony and pointed out discrepancies in his statements, including the number of times he had given testimony.
Journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç defended himself, stating he did not know the witness and had visited the HDP building as a journalist. He emphasized that as a reporter for Mezopotamya Agency, a legally established agency, his work was published there, and that MA is not integrated with other outlets like ANF and Nûçe Civan, though they may copy its news stories.
Temur argued that the Constitutional Court's decision in the case of Cemil Uğur, which found that detaining a journalist due to their affiliation with a news agency was unlawful, should apply to Oruç's case as well. Temur requested the removal of the judicial control decision against Oruç.
The court, after a short break, rejected the request to lift the judicial control decision and decided to hear a witness from a separate case file where Oruç was previously acquitted. The trial has been adjourned to May 14.
Background:
Journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç was detained on April 25, 2023, along with several other journalists and media professionals in a Diyarbakır-centered investigation. Oruç, along with Abdurrahman Gök and Beritan Canözer, was arrested on April 27, 2023, on charges of "membership in an organization."
The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment against Oruç based on witness statements and Oruç's reports and social media posts, accusing him of "membership in an organization" and "making propaganda for an organization." The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court transferred the case to Bitlis due to jurisdictional reasons.
The 63-page indictment accepted by the Bitlis 2nd High Criminal Court includes statements from witness Ümit Akbıyık, 35 news articles signed by Oruç published in MA, social media posts, and phone call records with journalist colleagues as evidence.
Oruç was not released at the first hearing on September 14, 2023, due to missing documents in the case file. He was released under judicial control at the second hearing on October 31.
