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October 22, 2025 – Turkey –
Journalist Öznur Değer, the news editor of the Kurdish-women-run agency JINNEWS, has been sentenced by a Turkish court in Mardin to three years, four months, and fifteen days in prison.
The conviction stems from indictments that accuse Değer of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” linked to her coverage and social-media commentary about a drone strike in northern Syria that killed two Kurdish journalists.
Değer’s arrest came in February 2025 when anti-terror police raided her family home in the Kızıltepe district, detaining her without the presence of her lawyers. She spent three months in pre-trial detention before release on bail in May.
The case highlights how Turkey’s anti-terrorism legislation — particularly Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law — is applied to journalistic work. Critics argue that posts and reporting on sensitive events such as military operations are being treated as propaganda rather than journalistic activity.
Değer’s case is part of a wider pattern of press-freedom concerns in Turkey, especially for Kurdish-language outlets and female journalists. Observers say the verdict will likely have a chilling effect on other reporters working in minority-language media or covering conflict-adjacent topics.
At this stage, it remains to be seen whether Değer will appeal the verdict and how it will affect her ability to continue journalism. The sentence raises broader questions about the separation between reporting, commentary, and what authorities classify as terrorist propaganda in Turkey’s increasingly restrictive media environment.
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