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Last update: 14-Apr-2020 |
15 January 2020: Trial of journalist Rojhat Doğru adjourned until MarchThe fifth hearing in the trial of journalist Rojhat Doğru on charges of “disrupting the unity of the state,” “membership of a terrorist group,” “terrorism propaganda” and “willful injury” took place on 15 January 2020 at the 8th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır. Doğru was arrested as part of the case on 5 December 2018 based on a witness testimony alleging that he participated in 2014’s Kobani protests. The journalist was released from pre-trial detention in February 2019. P24 monitored the hearing, where Doğru and his lawyer Resul Tamur were in attendance. The court heard the testimony of the plaintiff as a witness during the hearing. The witness claimed he saw Doğru during the Kobani protests holding a gun in one hand while holding a camera with the other. The witness said he recognized Doğru through photographs. Addressing the court in response to the allegations by the witness, Doğru said he was at the scene and that there was gunfire from the direction where the witness was standing. Telling the court that he got injured from gunfire, Doğru said the footage he recorded at the scene proved the direction from which guns were fired. Doğru told the court he was being targeted because of his coverage, which was deemed worthy of a journalism award. Doğru’s lawyer addressed the court next, asserting that the witness could not be telling the truth and that it was impossible for a person to hold a camera in one hand while shooting a gun with the other. Issuing an interim ruling after hearing all statements, the court ruled to have an expert analyze the footage and draft a report about the scene as well as to inquire about the plaintiff’s hospital records and adjourned the trial until 24 March 2020.
The trial of journalist Rojhat Doğru on the charges of “disrupting the unity of the state,” “membership in a terrorist group” and “terrorism propaganda” resumed on 15 October 2019 at the 8th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır. Doğru and his lawyer Resul Tamur were in attendance. A witness whom the court was set to hear during this hearing was not in attendance at the Mersin court where he was supposed to testify. The court lifted part of the judicial control measures imposed on Doğru but kept his travel ban in place and adjourned the trial until 14 January 2020.
Addressing the 8th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır via the courtroom video-conferencing system SEGBİS during the hearing, Doğru rejected the accusations. His lawyer, Resul Tamur, said the accusations against his client were based on Doğru’s journalistic activity and requested his acquittal and release.The court ordered the continuation of Doğru’s pre-trial detention and adjourned the trial.
Doğru pleaded not guilty and told the judge he did not know the people the police had asked him about, that it was at least two years since he last used the telephone number police asked him about, and that he has not used his Facebook account for a long time. Evidence cited for Doğru's arrest was an interview he did for Gali Kurdistan TV with PKK members at a public event in Iraq, which he also posted visuals from on Facebook. The report did not specify the date he was detained or where he was being held. |