The new Turkey
Arif Aslan.
Dicle Medya News Agency (Dihaber) journalist

14-Apr-2020 10:52

16 January 2020:

Trial of Arif Aslan and Selman Keleş to resume in May

The trial of journalists Arif Aslan and Selman Keleş on the charge of “membership of a terrorist group,” which was planned to resume on 16 January 2020, was postponed to a later date when one of the defense lawyers submitted to the court a letter of excuse. The trial will resume on 7 May at the 5th High Criminal Court of Van.

5 September 2019:

Selman Keleş and Arif Aslan’s trial adjourned until January

The sixth hearing in the trial of journalists Selman Keleş and Arif Aslan on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held on 5 September 2019 at the Van 5th High Criminal Court. 

Aslan and his lawyer Cahit Durmaz were in attendance. Durmaz asked the court to separate the file of Selman Keleş, who is unable to attend the hearings because he currently lives abroad. The panel sais they would consider the lawyer’s request for the two files to be separated and adjourned the trial until 16 January 2020.

Keleş and Aslan were jailed pending trial in Van and released pending trial by the trial court at the end of their first hearing on 21 November 2017 after spending eight months in pre-trial detention.

15 November 2018:

Trial into Selman Keleş and Arif Aslan adjourned 
 
The latest hearing in a trial where the shuttered Dicle Medya News Agency (Dihaber) reporter Selman Keleş and journalist Arif Aslan are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held on  15 November in the eastern province of Van. The 5th High Criminal Court of Van adjourned the trial until 21 March 2019.
 
Keleş and Aslan were jailed pending trial in Van and released at the end of their first hearing on 21 November 2017, after spending eight months in pretrial detention.

5 June 2018:
Arrest warrant against Selman Keleş
Fourth hearing in a trial where the shuttered Dicle Medya News Agency (Dihaber) reporter Selman Keleş and journalist Arif Aslan are charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” was held on 5 June in the eastern province of Van.

The hearing at the Van 5th High Criminal Court was attended by Aslan and the journalists lawyers. Aslan rejected the accusations and requested that the court lift judicial control measures imposed on him. The court rejected Aslan’s request and issued an arrest warrant against Keleş due to a separate criminal investigation launched in the district of Hınıs in the eastern province of Erzurum. The trial was adjourned until 15 November.

Keleş and Aslan were jailed pending trial in Van and released at the end of their first hearing on 21 November 2017, after eight months in prison.

5 December 2017:
A court in the eastern Van region on December 5 revoked an earlier decision to release photojournalist Selman Keleş and his co-defendant Arif Aslan on pre-trial detention, and ordered that the pair be detained for the remainder of the trial, the daily Evrensel reported.

Local authorities detained Keleş in March 2017 after he photographed a Van regional municipality building, Dihaber reported at the time. Aslan, a municipality employee, was detained alongside Keleş.

The court had released Keleş and Aslan from pre-trial detention on November 21, the daily Evrensel reported at the time. As of December 7, authorities had not taken them back into custody. Their trial is due to resume on February 22, 2018, according to Evrensel.

21 November 2017:
Journalist released

A Turkish court in the eastern Van region on November 21 released Selman Keleş, a photojournalist who was detained in March after photographing a regional municipality building, the daily Evrensel reported.

The court also released Arif Aslan, a municipality employee who was being tried alongside Keleş, according to Evrensel. Their trial is due to resume on February 22, 2018.