Amed- 8th hearing of the trial opened against Yeni Yaşam Newspaper editor Hatice Şahin, who was detained on October 18, 2018 as part of the investigation opened against Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and then released under judicial control, was held by the Diyarbakır 9th Criminal Court.  While Hatice Şahin did not attend the hearing, her lawyer Resul Temur attended.

Up to 15 years demanded against her

At the hearing, the prosecution made an opinion and demanded up to 15 years in prison against Hatice Şahin claiming that Hatice Şahin carried out activities and organized all kinds of actions and activities in the country on behalf of the organization. The prosecution also claimed that the journalist had travelled between Diyarbakır and Istanbul to carry out activities on behalf of the DTK by showing the flight tickets evidence found among the documents found as a result of the search in Hatice Şahin's house after the house raid.

“We do not accept the opinion”

During the hearing, lawyer Resul Temur said, “We do not accept the opinion of the prosecution,” and pointed out that there were statements by two anonymous witnesses named "Firar" and "Ezel" on the court file. “My client was taken into custody by police in order to embody the statements of the anonymous witnesses. Documents claimed to be documents consisting of texts and manuscripts have been included in the file and a prison sentence is demanded against my client  for being a member of the organization. We present to the court two-precedent decisions given by the regional court of appeal. We demand the statements of anonymous witnesses to not be included in the court file. Many journalists, our clients, stood trial due to statements of these anonymous witnesses and they all were acquitted.”

Lawyer demanded the acquittal of Hatice Şahin

Underlining that his client is a journalist, lawyer Resul Temur said that her client's workplace had been raided by the police as if it was her residence address. “My client is accused of having carried out activities on behalf of the DTK. My client stands trial over the statements of anonymous witnesses. We demand the acquittal of our client.”

She has been sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison

The Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court has sentenced journalist Hatice Şahin to six years and three months in prison on charges of “being a member of a terrorist organization” by ruling the continuation of the judicial control measure on her.