Aylin Duruoglu

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Duruoglu, editor of the liberal news Web site Vatan, was detained during a roundup of suspected members of the leftist organization Revolutionary Headquarters, local news media reported.

Duruoglu was accused of having cooperated with Revolutionary Headquarters, which the Turkish government classified as a terrorist organization, because she knew Ohran Yilmazkaya, one of its leaders. Yilmazkaya died in a shootout with police on the same day Duruoglu was arrested.

Duruoglu said she had known Yilmazkaya from their time in college and that she had interviewed him more recently. But she said she had no involvement in the organization or any knowledge of its inner workings. The Istanbul prosecutor’s office requested a 15-year jail sentence when Duruoglu appeared in court on October 1, according to news reports. No trial date was set, and she remained in Bakirköy Prison in late year.