Journalist arrested
Authorities in the southeastern city of Mardin on August 8 took Uğur Akgül, a former reporter for the shuttered pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), into custody to serve his prison sentence of two years and six months after a court rejected his appeal, according to the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency. The journalist was sent to Mardin Prison, according to the agency.
The charges against Akgül were in relation to reports he filed for DİHA during curfews in Mardin’s Nusaybin District in 2015 that the government imposed as part of its operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to the Huriyet Daily News.
Journalist released
A court in the southeastern city of Iğdır on August 7 released from state custody Berzan Güneş, a reporter for the Mezopotamya News Agency, during the first hearing of his trial, his employer reported.
He will remain on probation and is banned from foreign travel for the duration of his trial, according to the agency. The trial continues on September 4, the same source stated.
Güneş was detained in June and charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” in relation to his social media posts, CPJ has documented.
Journalist detained
Police in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on August 7 detained Ruken Demir, a reporter for the Mezopatamya News Agency, after raiding her home in the western city of Izmir, her employer reported.
Turkish authorities have not shared details of the case with the journalist’s lawyers because they said it would “violate the secrecy of the investigation,” according to Mezopatamya News Agency.