A Turkish court has acquitted journalist Evrim Kepenek of charges of "publicly spreading misleading information" after she was prosecuted for sharing reports that gendarmerie forces had seized humanitarian aid in Pazarcık, a district in Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, following the devastating Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes. The court ruled that there was no evidence proving Kepenek had criminal intent.
The trial, held at Istanbul’s 13th Criminal Court of First Instance, stemmed from a social media post Kepenek made on Feb. 15, 2023. In her post, she reported that gendarmerie officers had confiscated aid tents in Pazarcık and stated, "All aid will be distributed through AFAD [Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority]." She also shared a video related to the incident.
At the second hearing of her trial, Kepenek appeared in court with her lawyer, Deniz Yazgan Şenay. The hearing was also attended by Ülkü Şahin, a lawyer from the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS).
"A journalist’s source is confidential"
During the hearing, the presiding judge questioned Kepenek about her source for the report. Kepenek responded, "A journalist’s source is confidential."
The prosecutor, in his final opinion, stated that an evaluation of the social media post and the case file indicated that Kepenek had no criminal intent. He requested her acquittal.
Following Kepenek and her lawyer's agreement with the prosecutor's opinion, the court ruled that there was no evidence proving criminal intent and acquitted her of the charge of "publicly spreading misleading information."
