Turkey must drop charges against 3 ETHA journalists, including jailed editor Nadiye Gürbüz

Istanbul, September 17, 2026—Journalist Nadiye Gürbüz, who went on trial in Istanbul this week after spending more than seven months behind bars, must be freed immediately and Turkish authorities must stop abusing anti-terrorism laws to prevent journalists from doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday.

Gürbüz, an editor at the socialist Etkin News Agency (ETHA), was imprisoned alongside her colleagues, editor Pınar Gayıp and reporter Elif Bayburt, in Istanbul in early February after their outlet’s offices were raided. 

They all faced court for the first time this week in separate hearings on charges of membership of a terrorist organization but while Gayıp and Bayburt were released pending trial, Gürbüz remains imprisoned at least until her next hearing in December, with the court determining that she could not be released because all the witnesses had not been heard. 

“Three journalists have lost more than seven months of their lives behind bars and while Pınar Gayıp and Elif Bayburt were finally freed, Nadiye Gürbüz remains in prison,“ said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should free Gürbüz without delay and put an end to trials like this where the practice of journalism is presented as evidence of a crime.”

Turkish authorities raided the Istanbul offices of ETHA on February 3, 2026 as part of a larger operation targeting the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) and civil society groups on suspicion of having ties to the banned Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), which Turkey designates a terrorist group. More than 100 people were detained during the operation, including Gürbüz, Gayıp and Bayburt. 

On February 5, the three journalists were arrested pending trial on suspicions of terrorist organization membership. 

CPJ inspected the three indictments and monitored the court hearings of Gayıp on September 14; Gürbüz on September 15; and Bayburt on September 17 in the 23rd, 25th and the 24th Istanbul Courts of Serious Crimes, respectively. 

In all three indictments, prosecutors based the charge of MLKP membership on the fact that the journalists were employed by ETHA and had attended certain public events. All three journalists told the courts they were not members of the MLKP. 

Gayıp’s trial will continue on December 7 while Gürbüz’s is scheduled for December 8 and Bayburt’s takes place on December 10.

CPJ emailed the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for comment but did not receive a reply.