The Court of Cassation has upheld Kurdish journalist Beritan Canözer’s sentence for "terrorist propaganda." Canözer will now face incarceration following this final ruling.
The case against Canözer dates back to her social media activity between 2013 and 2016, during which she shared news articles and posts that were later deemed criminal. In 2019, the Diyarbakır 11th Heavy Penal Court sentenced her to one year, 10 months, and 15 days in prison for “making propaganda for a terrorist organization through press and publication.”
Her lawyer, Resul Temur, appealed the decision to the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice, which rejected the appeal in 2021. The case was then taken to the Court of Cassation, Turkey’s top appeals court, which found no legal irregularities in the lower court’s ruling.
Background
Canözer, who began her journalism career in 2014, has faced significant legal harassment since then. In 2016, she was detained while covering a protest in Diyarbakır under the pretext of being a "reasonable suspect" and spent three months in prison.
Her reporting, social media posts, and attendance at protests and press events have led to six separate police raids on her residence. Canözer has been detained five times, remanded in custody twice, summoned for questioning seven times, and faced eight lawsuits.
The journalist has faced charges of "membership in a terrorist organization," "making propaganda for a terrorist organization," and "insulting a public official." Out of the eight cases against her, three resulted in acquittals, including charges of terrorist membership, one case was dismissed due to being “duplicate,” and four cases, all for "terror propaganda," led to convictions totaling seven years and six months in prison. Two of those sentences, amounting to two years and six months, were suspended. However, sentences of one year, 10 months, and 15 days, as well as three years, one month, and 15 days, were not deferred. (VK)