Eylem Sonbahar
The retrial of journalist Pınar Gayıp and two others, charged with "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terrorist propaganda," has been postponed to Feb. 19 to allow for defense statements regarding the prosecutor's final opinion.
The trial, held at the 23rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul, stems from a case overturned by the 2nd Penal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice. The charges relate to an incident in which Gayıp and others were detained during a planned public statement in Istanbul's Şişhane district to honor slain journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, who were killed in Syria. Gayıp was arrested alongside six other journalists during the 2017 protest and was initially tried and convicted in 2022.
In this retrial's fifth hearing, the prosecutor reiterated his final opinion, which had been presented in a previous session. He requested the conviction of two co-defendants for "terrorist propaganda" and the separation of Gayıp’s case from theirs, citing her involvement in ongoing investigations and legal proceedings.
Following the prosecutor's statement, defense attorney Mustafa Taylan Savran announced that he would present his defense at the next session. The court granted additional time for the defense but emphasized that this would be the final extension.
The trial is set to resume on Feb. 19.
