JINHA

AMED – JINHA reporter Beritan Canözer was arrested on December 12, 2015 for being “excited” while covering a march in Diyarbakır. The charges against Beritan, just released, cite the contents of her reporter’s notebook as evidence of a crime.

For 52 days now, Turkish state forces have maintained a total blockade and 24-hour curfew on the Sur district of Diyarbakır. On December 12, a crowd of Diyarbakır residents and parliamentary representatives led a march to protest the ongoing blockade. Police arrested JINHA reporter Beritan Canözer, who was covering the group’s march. Police cited Beritan’s “excitement” as the reason for the arrest.

The charges against Beritan, just released, charge her with “propaganda for an illegal organization” as well as “membership in an illegal organization.” The evidence for the charges: Beritan’s reporter’s notebook and social media posts.

The prosecutor cited Beritan’s short notes on the blockades in Sur and the town of Sivan, claiming that Beritan “attempted to produce the perception that the state was responsible for the clashes in the curfew areas.” The charges also say that she “used her identity as a member of the press to serve the goals of the organization” (referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK]) and “made it appear that security forces were attacking civilians.” The prosecutor accused Beritan of “presenting security forces as the perpetrators of massacres.”

The charges say that the marching crowd “influenced” Beritan and included in the evidence a section of her notebook where she wrote, “will do a news item on this.”

The first hearing in Beritan’s trial will take place on March 29 in Diyarbakır.

(be/gc/cm)