2 journalists found guilty for reporting in Turkey

Istanbul, October 23, 2025—Authorities in Turkey shouldn’t fight the appeals of journalists Öznur Değer and Asuman Aranca, who were both sentenced for their work in separate trials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on October 23, 2025.

On October 21, a court in the southeastern province of Mardin found Değer, news director for the pro-Kurdish news website JİN News, guilty of repeatedly publishing “propaganda” for the outlawed group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. The journalist, who spent more than 100 days behind bars in pre-trial arrest earlier this year, was released pending appeal. She faces three years, four months, and 15 days in prison. 

In a separate case, an Istanbul court found Aranca, a reporter for the independent news website T24, guilty of “violating the secrecy” of a trial with her published stories from December 2023 and handed her a 10-month suspended prison sentence, also on October 21. Aranca has won multiple journalism awards for her prosecuted work about an expert report from a public trial for the murder of politician Sinan Ateş.

“The guilty verdicts for JİN News director Öznur Değer and T24 reporter Asuman Aranca are disappointing but unfortunately not unusual,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Reporting about an outlawed group or a political murder trial should not be a crime. The authorities should not fight the appeals of Değer and Aranca, and must stop prosecuting journalists for doing their jobs.” 

CPJ’s emails requesting comment from the chief prosecutor’s offices in Mardin and Istanbul did not receive replies.