Mehmet Şahin, a TV show host at PEL Production Company and columnist for the Kurdish-language weekly Xwebûn, was among 15 Kurdish journalists and a media worker who were taken into police custody in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır in June 2022 and were jailed without charge pending trial.
Şahin is a former educator and a Kurdish linguist who writes columns for Xwebûn and hosts a debate show on politics for PEL. The weekly newspaper Xwebûn started publication in December 2019 and focuses on the Kurdish language, politics, culture and history. PEL produces Kurdish-focused journalistic content including documentaries and shows on news, culture, arts, and political debates, and sells the content to European-based, pro-Kurdish broadcasters, his lawyer, Resul Tamur, told CPJ.
Diyarbakır police raided several locations in the city, including journalists’ houses and newsrooms, in the early hours of June 8, 2022, and took into custody 20 journalists and media workers, along with a citizen who was once interviewed by one of the journalists. On June 15, 15 of those journalists and one media worker were jailed by a court pending trial, including Şahin.
Tamur, who represents the 15 journalists and the media worker, told independent news website Bianet that the journalists will not learn about the accusations against them until they are charged due to a court order of secrecy, but said they were all questioned about their journalistic activities.
Tamur told Bianet that his clients were questioned about the angle they took on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militant group and political party that Turkey classifies as a terrorist group, and whether the content the journalists created for broadcast by European outlets was considered pro-PKK. Most of the journalists either work for pro-Kurdish media outlets or independent production companies that provide content for other outlets, according to news reports and CPJ’s interviews with local journalists.
Tamur told CPJ in an in-person interview in early November that his clients were being held at Diyarbakır Prison and remained under arrest but had not been indicted. He added that while the defense had not been informed of the details of the case, the authorities were focusing on content produced by the local ARİ, PEL, and PIA production companies, which produce Kurdish-focused content including shows on news, culture, arts, and political debates, and documentaries. That content is broadcast by European-based, pro-Kurdish broadcasters Sterk TV and Medya TV. Tamur said his clients are not employees of these broadcasters, which buy the content from a distributor that works with ARİ, PEL, and PIA. The content was also made available on YouTube after their broadcasts, the lawyer added.
Diyarbakır courts denied the journalists’ appeals of their arrests and their pretrial detention on August 22 and September 8.
In prison, the journalists were not allowed to receive critical newspapers such as Yeni Yaşam, BirGün, and Evrensel and only had access to radio with a limited number of stations. The journalists were in good health and were allowed lawyer and family visits, but complained about a lack of access to socialization and sports activities, according to reports.
CPJ emailed the Turkish Ministry of Justice in October 2022 for comment but did not receive any reply.