Öznur Değer, news director for the pro-Kurdish site JİNNEWS, was taken into police custody during a February 7, 2025, raid on her home in the southeastern city of Mardin and placed under arrest. A court subsequently charged her with making propaganda for the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey recognizes as a terrorist organization.
In the four-page indictment, reviewed by CPJ, prosecutors said PKK-related news, photographs, and videos that Değer had posted on the social media platform X between 2021 and 2024 were terrorism propaganda. The indictment also said Değer was under investigation for “insulting a public officer,” after the officer filed a complaint about comments Değer made at a wake in December.
Following a first hearing on May 22, the Mardin court released Değer pending trial. She was under a travel ban and judicial control until her next hearing, on October 21.
The Mardin Court found Değer guilty at that hearing and sentenced her to three years, four months, and 15 days in prison. Değer remained free pending appeal.
Değer is also appealing a previous sentence of six years and three months issued against her and seven other journalists in June 2024 for membership of a terrorist organization. She spent almost seven months in jail, from October 2022 to May 2023, awaiting trial.
CPJ’s email requesting comment from the chief prosecutor’s office in Mardin did not receive a reply.