The new Turkey
Berzan Güneş.
Reporter for Mezopotamya online news agency

04-Jan-2020 11:40

5 November 2019:

Journalists Berzan Güneş, Uğur Yılmaz sentenced on terrorism charges

Two journalists standing trial in separate courts in Istanbul and Bitlis were convicted of terrorism-related charges on 5 November 2019.

Journalist Berzan Güneş was sentenced to 3 years, 5 months and 15 days in prison on the charge of “terrorism propaganda” and acquitted of the “membership in a terrorist group” charge against him at the 18th hearing of his trial overseen by the Anadolu 2nd High Criminal Court.

Uğur Yılmaz, who is jailed at the Elazığ No 2 High Security Prison, was convicted of “membership in a terrorist organization” and sentenced to 6 years, 10 months and 15 days in prison and acquitted of “disseminating propaganda” at the end of 16th hearing hearing of his trial at the 2nd High Criminal Court of Bitlis. 

8 October 2019:

Journalist Berzan Güneş’s trial adjourned until November

The 17th hearing in the trial of journalist Berzan Güneş on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” took place on 8 October 2019 at Istanbul’s Anadolu 2nd High Criminal Court.

The prosecution submitted their final opinion of the case during the hearing, asking the court to convict Güneş of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.”

Granting Güneş and his lawyers additional time to prepare their defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until 5 November 2019.

7 August 2018:

Berzan Güneş released from pretrial detention in first hearing 

Berzan Güneş, a reporter for Mezopotamya news agency, who was jailed pending trial in June, was released from pretrial detention at the end of the first hearing of his case. Güneş is indicted for “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” via social media.

Addressing the High Criminal Court of Iğdır via the courtroom video-conferencing system SEGBİS from the Şırnak Prison, Güneş rejected the accusations and said all his social media posts featured news content. He said his posts had not included his personal comments, only the facts and had not aimed at propaganda of any organization.

Issuing an interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to release Güneş in line with the prosecutor’s opinion. The court imposed judicial control measures and an overseas travel ban on Güneş and adjourned the trial until 4 September.

11 June 2018:
Journalist arrested
A court on June 11 ordered Berzan Güneş, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency, to be arrested pending trial, his employer reported. The indictment accused Güneş of "making propaganda for a [terrorist] organisation" and presented as evidence the journalist's social media posts, going back to 2014, according to the report. The posts included news stories about Turkish military activity in the Syrian cities of Kobane and Afrin, and a report by the journalist Robert Fisk. Prosecutors claimed in the indictment that Güneş could not be found to testify during an investigation into him. The journalist's lawyer denied that claim and said his client offered testimony when he was called, according to reports.

12 June 2018:

Journalist Berzan Gunes jailed over social media posts

Berzan Güneş, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya online news agency has been put in pre-trial detention due to his social media postings.

Güneş was rounded up in the eastern province of Sirnak upon an earlier warrant early Monday.

He appeared before the court on accusations of making propaganda on behalf of a terror group and was put behind bars later in the day.

Gunes’s camera and electronic devices were seized.

4 April 2018:

Reporter's father detained
Police in the southeastern city of Iğdır detained a journalist's 68-year old father after they were unable to find the reporter, Berzan Güneş, the news website 1habervar reported on April 4.
Güneş, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency, is wanted by authorities for questioning, according to 1habervar.