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Gazeteci Beritan Canözer

Last update: 26-Apr-2020

27 Janyaru 2020:

Prosecution asks court to convict Beritan Canözer of “propaganda”

Journalist Beritan Canözer appeared before the 11th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır on 27 January 2020 for the second hearing of her trial for allegedly “making terrorist group propaganda.”

Canözer and her lawyer Resul Tamur were in attendance in the courtroom. Rejecting the accusation, Canözer said the social media posts she is accused for were not hers. Canözer said she wasn’t questioned in relation to the claims against her at the police station, but was only shown photos that she had taken. Canözer also explained that her social media accounts were deactivated at the time of the investigation.

Presenting their final opinion, the prosecutor requested the court to sentence Canözer for “disseminating terrorist group propaganda.”  Granting Canözer and her lawyer additional time to prepare her final defense statement, the court set 25 March 2020 as the date for the next hearing.

26 June 2019:

Prosecutor seeks up to 15 years of imprisonment for Beritan Canözer

The second hearing in a trial where journalist Gazeteci Beritan Canözer is accused of “membership in a terrorist group” took place on 26 June 2019 at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.

Canözer and her lawyer Resul Tamur were in attendance in the courtroom. Statements by witnesses who testified against Canözer were first read out during the hearing. Addressing the court afterwards, Canözer rejected the accusations in the witness testimonies and told the court that she was a journalist and was only doing her job.

The prosecution then went on to submit their final opinion of the case, seeking up to 15 years in prison for Canözer on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” as per Article 314/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and Article 5 of the Law on the Fight against Terror (TMK), based on testimony by four witnesses.

Accepting Canözer’s request for additional time to prepare her defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until October.