Deniz Tekin
In the retrial of Kurdish writer and publisher Azad Zal on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization,” the prosecutor has requested a conviction.
The hearing at the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court proceeded without Zal’s attendance; his lawyer, Abdullah Çağer, was present. The presiding judge noted that the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued a non-prosecution decision in a related investigation against Zal.
Despite that, the prosecutor submitted a final opinion (mütalaa) calling for Zal to be sentenced on the charge of membership in a terrorist organization. Lawyer Çağer opposed the opinion and requested time to prepare a defense. The court granted additional time to Zal and his attorney and postponed the trial to Jan. 26, 2026.
Background
Azad Zal (legal name Mehmet Güngörmüş) is a writer, translator, and the owner of J&J Publishing House. He had previously been prosecuted over his membership in the Kurdish Language Research and Development Association (KURDİ-DER) and the Kurdish Writers’ Association — both of which were closed by decree during Turkey’s post-2016 state of emergency. He was also accused of recruiting participants for a “separatist” television and radio program and serving as a delegate to the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), a Kurdish-focused civil platform often targeted by Turkish authorities.
Zal was detained in Diyarbakır on June 30, 2020, as part of a broader investigation into the DTK and was jailed before being released on July 18, 2020.
On March 10, 2022, the Diyarbakır 8th High Criminal Court sentenced him to 6 years and 3 months in prison and ruled that he be stripped of certain civil rights. Zal and his lawyer appealed the decision, arguing that the trial was unlawful. The regional appellate court overturned the verdict, citing possible legal and factual links between this case and another open investigation against him. The file was sent back to the local court for retrial.
