Journalist Ahmet Kanbal on 1 Feburary was acquitted in the second hearing of his trial over allegations of “making propaganda for an organization through press and publication.” The charges were based on a photograph included in a news-related post made from account X.
The hearing, which took place today (February 1, 2024) at the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court, was attended by journalist Kanbal and his lawyer Erdal Kuzu. In the trial's second session, the prosecutor presented his opinion on the case file, requesting Kanbal’s acquittal.
Lawyer Kuzu agreed with the prosecutor's opinion and reiterated that the post in question was not made by his client. He stated, “The photograph belonging to members of the organization was not shared by my client. He shared a news agency's report. Therefore, no criminal element has been constituted. My client cannot be prosecuted for his journalistic activities,” and repeated their request for acquittal. Kanbal, emphasizing that he was being tried for his journalistic activities, sought a decision for his acquittal.
The court, stating that no elements of crime were constituted, issued a verdict of acquittal for Kanbal.
Background
Journalist Ahmet Kanbal was detained in a raid at his home in Mardin on October 6, 2023, as part of an investigation alleging that he re-shared a news report from the Mezopotamya Agency's X account (formerly known as Twitter) on his own social media account. Following his statement to the police, Kanbal was released.
The Mardin Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Kanbal for “making propaganda for an organization through press and publication,” with the indictment seeking up to 7.5 years imprisonment. The indictment alleged that on March 17, 2023, Kanbal shared content from his social media account titled "Mezopotamya Agency, QSD: 9 fighters lost their lives in the fallen helicopter." The photograph in the news content showed individuals in military uniforms, who were unidentified but considered to be members of the YPG, an organization regarded as illegal by Turkey.
The indictment argued that Kanbal’s post exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and news reporting, contending that the post could not be evaluated within the scope of freedom of news. It was alleged that through this post, Kanbal legitimized the violent, coercive, or threatening methods of the organization, praised them, or encouraged the use of such methods.
YPG (People's Protection Units) is a predominantly Kurdish militia in Syria. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist organization due to its affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and several other countries.
