Journalist and artist Zehra Doğan, who completed a two-year prison sentence, will face retrial tomorrow at the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court following the overturning of her case by the Supreme Court.
Doğan was initially sentenced to 2 years, 9 months, and 22 days in prison for "making propaganda for an organization" due to her reporting and social media posts during the curfew and clashes in Nusaybin, Mardin. The Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice had rejected her appeal in 2017, finalizing her sentence. Doğan served her sentence from 2017 to 2019 and was released.
In 2020, a judicial reform opened the possibility of appealing sentences under five years, previously confirmed by regional courts, to the Supreme Court. Doğan's lawyers argued that the local and regional courts' decisions were legally flawed and based on incomplete investigations. The Supreme Court reviewed the case and, on October 19, 2023, annulled Doğan's sentence, ruling that the evidence did not justify the conviction and that she should have been acquitted.
The Supreme Court's ruling stated: “Upon examining the case, it is understood that the content of the posts considered as evidence by the first-instance court does not legitimize or praise the methods of violence, force, or threats employed by the terrorist organization. Therefore, convicting the defendant based on a misjudgment of the evidence constitutes a legal error. The sentence is annulled.”
The case was sent back to the local court for retrial.
Background of the case
Zehra Doğan, the editor of the now-closed Jin News Agency (JİNHA), was arrested on July 23, 2016, in Mardin. Her arrest was based on reports and artworks shared on social media during the 2015 curfew and clashes in Nusaybin. Initially charged with "membership in an organization" and "making propaganda for an organization," she was detained for 4.5 months before being released pending trial. In 2017, the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced her to 2 years, 9 months, and 22 days for propaganda but acquitted her of membership charges. The sentence was confirmed after her appeal was rejected.
On June 17, 2017, Doğan was arrested again at a road checkpoint while traveling from Diyarbakır to Mardin, as her sentence had become final. She served over two years in prison and was released from Tarsus Women's Closed Prison on February 24, 2019.
Now, with the Supreme Court's decision to annul the previous ruling, Doğan’s case will be retried, offering a new chance for her to clear her name.
