The second hearing of the case filed against Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-chair and Mezopotamya Agency (MA) editor Dicle Müftüoğlu, who was arrested on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, as part of the Ankara-based investigation, was held at Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court. Müftüoğlu, who was tried on the allegations of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "leading a terrorist organization" due to her professional activities, was attended to the hearing via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from Sincan Women's Closed Prison, where she is held. Müftüoğlu's lawyers were also present at the hearing.

 

DFG, Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association (MKG), DİSK Basın-İş, Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) Secretary General Banu Tuna, as well as many journalists and representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations watched the hearing.

  

At the hearing, Müftüoğlu took the floor because no witness was present. Müftüoğlu said: "I have been arrested for 9 months since May 3. My journalistic activities are being tried in this case. This situation has become a situation that hinders freedom of the press. This situation victimizes both journalists and the public. We are being tried because we write the truth. There is great pressure especially on Kurd journalists. There are. I am one of them."

 

Müftüoğlu said: "The witness statements are unfounded. I was receiving treatment in the hospital in 2014 when the witness said that I was abroad. This treatment lasted for 3 years. I went to Iraq in 2017 to follow and report on the referendum there. It is as if the date I went to follow up the referendum in 2017 was put in the file so that it could be compatible with the date of the witness in 2014. A journalist is obliged to go wherever the event is, wherever the news is. There is no need for witness testimony. When you search on the internet, you will see that I work and make news at Mezopotamya Agency. DFG is a legal association. We established DFG so that journalists can report in freer conditions. We organize workshop trainings from time to time. We are making sense of these too. This is also in the statute. The witness put my professional activities under an organizational cover. These are not organizational activities they are all legal. These activities are open to the public, no witnesses are needed for this. It is stated in the SSI records that I am a journalist. Witness statements are unfounded. The indictment includes recordings of conversations with my colleagues and news sources."

 

'MY JOURNALISM ACTIVITIES ARE BEING JUDGED'

 

Adding that it is her right to meet with his journalist colleagues, Müftüoğlu said: “These were put in place to inflate the indictment. I came to Diyarbakır Courthouse to follow the news. It is natural that common base station information comes out with lawyers as my news source. The book found in my house was used as a justification for a crime. I am a journalist and I also read books. It is not right to blame a book chosen among hundreds of books. Every move I made was shown as a crime in the indictment. The scholarship my friends sent me when I was a student was shown as a crime. The royalties I sent to my journalist colleagues were shown as a crime. I have been arrested for nine months and my journalistic activities are being tried. I demand my release.”

 

Open witness Kerem Gökalp was heard via SEGBİS. Gökalp, repeating his allegations in the indictment, stated in his statement to the prosecutor's office that "the training that Müftüoğlu attended lasted a month", and said in court that he "did not know how long the training lasted". 

Confessing witness Gökalp claimed that Müftüoğlu attended the training in 2014 but did not remember the exact date. Taking the floor after the witness statement, Müftüoğlu said: "This is not true, I said this in my previous defense."

 

The prosecutor requested the continuation of the detention.

 

Müftüoğlu said: “I am a journalist and I do not have any organizational activities. I have worked to convey the truth for 15 years. I fought for journalism to work in a free environment. Prosecuting a journalist for his news is a threat to journalists. Journalism is not a crime. I want my release."

 

'SHE WAS BEING TREATED ON THE DATE SAID BY THE WITNESS'

 

At the hearing, Müftüoğlu's lawyer Resul Temur began to make his defense. Temur said: “Confessor Kerem Gökalp does not have a statement about Müftüoğlu in his first statement. Gökalp is taken to Ankara and his statements are categorized. Why was Kerem Gökalp taken to Ankara? Why were the photographs of Müftüoğlu, who lives in Diyarbakır, shown to him? I can present many documents proving that Müftüoğlu was not abroad on the date the witness said. We presented to the last hearing documents showing that she received treatment due to the traffic accident she had in 2012. The witness statement does not match the date the client went abroad. We specifically asked the witness for the exact date. The witness said it was July-August. However, my client has news published on these dates with her signature.”

 

Stating that more than 30 Kurd journalists have been subjected to investigations and arrests with similar allegations in the last two years, Temur said: “The pressure on Kurd journalists in Turkey is the equivalent of censorship. If the statements of the witnesses are considered as a whole, it is revealed how many people they recited about. Base station signals are presented as evidence. Why hasn't it been investigated yet whether the phone has a signal near the Tigris border? Because there was no such situation, this was not investigated and put into the file. The prosecutor's office is manipulating. My client went to Iraq for the referendum in 2017, made interviews about this issue and these were published."

 

Stating that they submitted the interviews his client made at that time to the court, Temur said: "We asked the witness the exact date of the training that Müftüoğlu claimed to have attended, but the witness said that it was in July and August. If you don't know the date, you are obviously lying."

 

REPEATED CASE

 

Reminding that the secret witness coded "K8Ç4B3L1T5" stated that K8Ç4B3L1T5 was working on behalf of the state in the statement in the trial of 11 journalists on trial in Ankara, Temur said: "There is direction and intent in 'K8Ç4B3L1T5's statements. 'K8Ç4B3L1T5' was not heard before the judge. This is against the principle of directness." 

Temur presented the news about the journalism training announcements made by DFG to the public to the court panel. Noting that his client was tried for the accusations in the file and that the only thing new was the statements of the witness Kerem Gökalp, Temur presented the previous decision to the court.

 

'THE PROSECUTOR PREPARED THE INDICTMENT WITHOUT ANY EFFORT'

 

MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok also made his defense. Ok said: “There were many unlawful acts in the file. The court accepted the indictment prepared by the prosecutor without any research. The 43-page indictment was prepared for revenge. The indictment does not include the evidence presented by Dicle's defense and lawyers. The prosecutor prepared the indictment without any effort.”

 

Ok demanded the release of Journalist Müftüoğlu.

 

In the next hearing, it was decided to hear the secret witness and to continue Müftüoğlu's detention and postponed the hearing to 29 February.