Deniz Tekin
The trial of Ramazan Şimşek, a café owner in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır who announced he would offer services in Kurdish, has been postponed once again to allow prosecutors more time to prepare their final opinion.
The second hearing of the case was held at the 5th High Criminal Court in Diyarbakır. Şimşek faces charges of “making continuous propaganda for a terrorist organization” after publicly stating that his café would serve customers in Kurdish. He had previously spent six months under house arrest.
Şimşek and his lawyers, Mehdi Özdemir and Yakup, attended the hearing, which was also observed by journalists and a trial monitor from the Human Rights Association (İHD) headquarters.
The prosecution requested additional time due to the scope and complexity of the case file. The court granted the request, postponing the trial until Feb. 17, 2026.
Delivering his defense statement in Kurdish through an interpreter, Şimşek reiterated his previous statements. His lawyers affirmed their support for his position and called on the court to address procedural shortcomings in the case file.
Background to the case
Ramazan Şimşek operates Pîne Café on Sanat Street in Diyarbakır’s central Yenişehir district. On May 15, 2024—immediately following Kurdish Language Day, which is symbolically significant for the Kurdish community—he announced that the café would begin serving customers exclusively in Kurdish.
After the announcement, Şimşek was targeted on social media and received threats. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against him on suspicion of “membership in a terrorist organization committed continuously,” a charge later downgraded to propaganda.
On May 29, 2024, police raided his workplace and detained him. After two days in custody, he was released under judicial control, including house arrest. That restriction was only lifted six months later, on Nov. 29, 2024, following an objection filed by his lawyer.
The indictment, prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, claims that Şimşek intentionally timed the café’s Kurdish-only policy to coincide with Kurdish Language Day—an occasion the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) are said to give symbolic importance to.
Prosecutors also pointed to the café’s social media account, which shared song lyrics and content containing the word “Kurdistan,” and to the presence of publications previously banned by court order found on the premises, as evidence of alleged propaganda.
