July 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
A court in Turkey has ordered the release of 15 Kurdish journalists detained more than a year ago for their alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and indicted on “terrorism” charges.
The 15 released are part of a group of 18 journalists whose trial began on Tuesday after nearly thirteen months in prison. Finally, the court has declared them innocent and has ordered their release, as reported by the Kurdish newspaper ‘Mezopotamia’, for which several of them work.
The non-governmental organization Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) indicated on Tuesday that all of them were accused of “membership of a terrorist organization”, in reference to the PKK, although defense lawyers affirmed that the charges were presented within the framework of an effort by the authorities to crack down on the Turkish media.
Turkey was ranked 165 out of 180 in the 2023 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which in 2022 ranked Ankara in 149th place. The organization therefore highlighted a deterioration of the situation. in the country, which fell 16 positions in this classification.
The Turkish army has frequently carried out military operations against the PKK and its allies in northern Syria –mainly the Syrian Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG)– since the ceasefire between the government and the armed group in July 2015.
