The new Turkey
Ergin Çağlar.
Reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency (MA)

21-Jan-2020 10:11

5 December 2019:

Journalist Ergin Çağlar acquitted in first hearing

Mezopotamya news agency reporter Ergin Çağlar’s trial on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” got under way on 5 December 2019 at the Mersin 8th High Criminal Court.

After the court heard Çağlar’s defense statement and the witness testimony against Çağlar, the prosecutor presented his final opinion, asking the court to acquit Çağlar based on lack of evidence. Issuing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court acquitted the journalist.

1 November 2019:

Journalist Ergin Çağlar to stand trial on “propaganda” charge

Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Ergin Çağlar will stand trial on the charge of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” at a Mersin court. The first hearing is set for 5 December 2019 at the 8th High Criminal Court of Mersin.

Çağlar, who was detained for several days in August on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group,” is accused based on his reporting about demonstrations in Mersin in support of hunger strikes in prisons across Turkey that took place earlier this year.

20 August 2019:

Journalist Ergin Çağlar released after four days in custody

Journalist Ergin Çağlar, a Mersin-based reporter for Mezopotamya news agency, who was arrested on 16 August 2019 at the Mersin Courthouse, was released under judicial control measures by a Mersin court on 20 August.

Çağlar’s apartment in Mersin was raided on 14 August as part of an investigation by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which had also issued an arrest warrant for the journalist.

Çağlar was brought to the Mersin Police Department for interrogation after being arrested at the Mersin Courthouse. The journalist is charged with “membership in a terrorist group” and a confidentiality order was in place concerning the investigation.

16 August 2019:

Journalist Ergin Çağlar, a Mersin-based reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency (MA), was arrested on 16 August 2019 at the Mersin Courthouse, where he had gone to give his statement as part of an ongoing criminal investigation against him.

Police raided Çağlar’s apartment in Mersin on 14 August as part of an investigation by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which had also issued an arrest warrant for the journalist. Çağlar was not at home during the raid, but the police confiscated several books they found in his apartment.

Çağlar was brought to the Mersin Police Department for interrogation after being arrested at the Mersin Courthouse. The journalist is charged with “membership in a terrorist group” and news reports said a confidentiality order was in place concerning the investigation.

24 July 2018:

MA reporter Ergin Çağlar briefly detained
 
Engin Çağlar, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency (MA), was taken into custody on 24 July during a checkpoint control as he was traveling from Maraş to Adana. Çağlar was arrested on grounds of a search warrant. Çağlar was referred to the local courthouse following his interrogation at the local gendarmerie station and was released by the prosecutor following his statement.*

*Source