Tolga Güney, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency in the western city of Izmir, has been kept under house arrest since February 2024. He was charged with terrorist organization membership in late October and the trial is scheduled to begin on February 10, 2025.
Izmir police raided the houses of five journalists, including Güney, and took them into custody on February 13, 2024. Police kept the detainees handcuffed from behind for hours while they were in custody, according to reports and the journalists, who spoke to CPJ. On February 16, three of the journalists, including Güney, were placed under house arrest under suspicion of terrorism activity by an Izmir court. The court ordered electronic tagging to ensure they do not leave their homes. Güney told CPJ that the house arrest is hindering his ability to work.
The two others were released under judicial control, which involves the obligation to report to a police station twice a week and a ban on foreign travel.
CPJ reviewed the indictment against Güney, which charges him with membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), classified by Turkey as a terrorist organization. Prosecutors presented tapes of Güney’s everyday phone calls with colleagues and news sources as evidence of alleged terrorism and Mezopotamya’s affiliation with the PKK.
CPJ spoke to Güney via messaging app in November 2024. The journalist said he was being prosecuted for terrorism due to his reporting on the environment and the “plundering” of Turkey’s natural resources by energy companies.
CPJ’s email to the Turkish Ministry of Justice in November 2024 did not receive any reply.