Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld a prison sentence of almost two years for a journalist in southeastern Turkey who was convicted of disseminating terrorism propaganda in her articles and social media posts, the Bianet news website reported.
Beritan Canözer, a reporter for Jinnews, was given a prison sentence of 22 months, 15 days in 2019 by the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court for sharing news reports she wrote between 2013 and 2016 on her social media accounts in addition to liking some posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda through media.
Her lawyer unsuccessfully appealed the court’s ruling at a regional appeals court in 2021 and then at the Supreme Court of Appeals, which has now found no legal irregularities in the lower court’s ruling, making her sentence final. The journalist is expected to be arrested.
Canözer, who has been the subject of many investigations and cases since she began her journalism career in 2014, was defiant in the wake of the top appeals’ court’s decision and vowed to continue to practice journalism at all costs.
“Dozens of investigations, detentions, arrests, ongoing judicial processes, prison sentences. They did everything they could to discourage me. Since 2014, I have spent most of my time in the corridors of police [stations] and courthouses. I have never thought of giving up this profession for a single day. I will continue to pursue the truth with the courage and commitment I have based on the free press tradition,” she said on X.
It’s common for journalists and media workers in Turkey to face terrorism-related accusations due to their professional activities. Those employed at pro-Kurdish media outlets frequently are accused of membership in or propaganda on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
Judicial harassment?
Canözer was detained in 2016 while covering a protest in the Diyarbakır under the pretext of being a “reasonable suspect” and spent three months in prison.
Her reporting, social media posts and participation in protests and press events have resulted in six separate police raids on her residence. She has been detained five times, arrested twice, summoned for questioning seven times and has faced eight court cases.
The charges against her include “membership in a terrorist organization,” “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” and “insulting a public official.” Of the eight cases brought against her, three resulted in acquittals, including the charge of terrorist organization membership. One case was dismissed due to being a “duplicate,” while four cases for “disseminating terrorism propaganda” led to convictions totaling seven years and six months in prison. Two of these sentences, totaling two years and six months, were suspended. However, the latest sentence as well as another one of three years, one month were not suspended.
Turkey’s anti-terror laws are often criticized by human rights groups and international organizations for being overly broad, giving authorities too much room for interpretation.
Nearly 200 media outlets, including dozens of pro-Kurdish organizations, were summarily shut down by executive decree-laws for alleged terrorist affiliation following a coup attempt in July 2016.
Turkey, which has been suffering from a poor record of freedom of the press for years, ranks 158th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index published on May 3 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.