Deniz Tekin
The sixth hearing in the retrial of journalist Perihan Kaya on charges of “terrorist organization propaganda” was held at the Diyarbakır 10th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey. Kaya, who currently resides abroad, did not attend the session, but her lawyer Resul Temur was present in the courtroom.
Testimony taken in Switzerland added to case file
During the hearing, a statement obtained from Kaya in Switzerland was officially added to the case file. The statement, which was sent via Turkey’s Ministry of Justice, is in German and has been forwarded to a court-appointed expert for translation. The presiding judge informed Kaya’s lawyer that the translated version had not yet been submitted, while the court clerk confirmed the document was in the file and that the translation process was ongoing.
The prosecutor requested that all missing elements in the case file be completed. The court ruled to wait for the expert’s translation and to inquire about the progress of the process. The trial was adjourned until June 18, 2025.
Background
Kaya was initially charged by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “making terrorist propaganda.” The indictment cited as evidence her social media posts from 2015, conversations with fellow journalists, statements from secret witnesses, anonymous electronic tips, her international travels, and her membership in the now-closed Free Journalists’ Association (Özgür Gazeteciler Derneği), which had been shut down by decree under Turkey’s post-2016 emergency rule.
In the first hearing held on March 24, 2021, the court sentenced Kaya to 1 year and 3 months in prison for “terrorist propaganda,” while acquitting her of the more serious charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
However, the regional appeals court overturned the local court’s decision, returning the case for retrial. The appeals court found that the original ruling had failed to apply the provisions on repeated offenses—known as “chain crimes”—and deemed the sentence insufficient. Kaya is now being retried on the same propaganda charge, with the retrial process ongoing.
