The new Turkey
Asli Ceren Aslan.
Editor, Internet Reporter, Photographer, Print reporte

24-Jan-2019 9:37

Aslı Ceren Aslan, editor-in-chief of the Özgür Gelecek newspaper, was ordered arrested on Feb. 21, 2017 after she was detained on charges of “border violation” and “being a member of an [illegal] organization”.

She reportedly denied the charges and said she had been reporting on the latest developments in northern Syria.

9 February 2017:
News editor arrested, beaten: report
Police in the southeastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa on February 9 arrested Aslı Ceren Aslan, news editor for the pro-Kurdish biweekly newspaper Özgür Gelecek, her employer reported yesterday. The newspaper reported that she was reporting on developments along the Syrian border, and particularly in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Syria, Rojava.

Security forces strip-searched Aslan twice, at the Şanlıurfa Police Directorate and Ceylanpınar Gendarmerie Station, and beat her, according to Özgür Gelecek.

A court in Şanlıurfa on February 13 ordered her to be held pending trial on charges of attempting to cross the border illegally, "propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization" on social media, and "being a member of a [terrorist] organization." The journalist denied the charges, the report said.

November 2016:
Magazine editor sentenced to prison on terrorism charges
Istanbul's 14th Court for Serious Crimes yesterday sentenced Aslı Ceren Aslan, the managing editor of the socialist magazine Özgür Gelecek (Free Future), to two years and six months in prison on charges of "propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization," according to court records reviewed by CPJ.

The court records show that prosecutors alleged that specific articles in the magazine spread propaganda for the PKK.

Police in the southeastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa on February 9, 2017, arrested Aslı Ceren Aslan, news editor for the pro-Kurdish biweekly newspaper Özgür Gelecek, her employer reported. The newspaper said that Aslan was reporting on developments along the Syrian border, particularly in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Rojava.

Security forces strip-searched Aslan twice and beat her, according to a report in the journalist’s paper, which cited her lawyer.

As of December 4, 2017, the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment on claims that jailed journalists are mistreated.

A Şanlıurfa court on February 13 ordered Aslan to be held pending trial on charges of attempting to cross the border illegally, "propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization" on social media, and "being a member of a [terrorist] organization." The journalist denied the charges, the report said.

Istanbul's 14th Court for Serious Crimes sentenced Aslan to two years and six months in prison on charges of "making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to court records reviewed by CPJ.

According to court records, prosecutors alleged that specific articles in her paper spread propaganda for the PKK.

Aslan was at Urfa Prison, according to news reports. As of late 2017, Aslan’s lawyers had not returned CPJ’s calls requesting comment. *

* Source

This page is licensed under Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)