Abdullah Çetin, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency, or DİHA, in the southeastern province of Siirt, was being held at Siirt E Type Closed Prison, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ’s request. According to the list, Çetin is charged with membership in an armed terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK.
Authorities publicly claim that the pro-Kurdish media are aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK. The government says the journalists produce propaganda in favor of the banned organizations.
The government’s indictment cited Çetin’s professional phone conversations as evidence, the Bianet independent news portal said. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The trial was ongoing in late 2013.