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The Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided not to pursue charges against journalist Bilal Seçkin, who had been under investigation for “membership in a terrorist organization” over photographs published in the pro-Kurdish Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper and PolitikArt magazine.
According to the investigation documents, Seçkin received a total of 5,195 euros in 17 payments between 2021 and 2022 from a Germany-based company, Medya Presse und Werbeagentur GmbH, which represents the outlets in question. In his statement, Seçkin said the payments were for photographs he sent to Yeni Özgür Politika.
The prosecutor noted that the content of the photographs could not be determined and that no concrete evidence was found linking Seçkin directly to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The investigation found no proof that Seçkin was part of the group’s hierarchy, received ideological or military training, provided funding, or conducted propaganda on social media. With insufficient evidence to open a public case, prosecutors issued a decision of non-prosecution.
‘Such investigations should not be launched at all’
Speaking to bianet after the decision, Seçkin noted that he had been detained in Nov 2024 along with another journalist. “Our news reports, the photographs we took, and our commissioned work for Özgür Politika were presented as a crime,” he said.
“For nine months, I lived under judicial control and a travel ban. My passport was canceled, my visa and tickets for international events were wasted, my equipment was seized, and my personal plans were disrupted,” said the journalist. “The prosecutor’s decision confirms what we have said from the start, the truth has come out. But the real issue is that such investigations should never be launched in the first place.”
Criticizing the way the detentions were carried out, the journalist said, “Our addresses were known, and we could have gone to testify when called, but they came with house raids.”
“Some of my colleagues detained with me are still on trial, still signing in regularly, and still facing unjust restrictions while their professions are being criminalized,” he added. “These measures must be lifted, and our colleagues imprisoned for their professional activities must be released immediately. Journalism is the guarantee of the public’s right to information.”
Notng that journalism is a public service, Seçkin said, “In Turkey, journalists face judicial pressure, detentions, and criminal investigations for bringing the truth to the public. The pressure is even greater on those who critically report on rights violations, social events, and state policies.
“Practicing our profession, taking news photos, and sharing them is being portrayed as a crime. Yet press freedom is essential to democracy. Turning journalism into a crime is a direct attack on the public’s right to know. As we have said from the beginning, journalism is not a crime.”
Background
The investigation was launched by the Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. On Nov 26, police raided homes in İstanbul, Diyarbakır, Ankara, and Batman, detaining eight people, mostly journalists, as well as writers, poets, and cartoonists. Among those detained was bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz.
Two of the detainees, Mehmet Uçar and Hamza Kaan (Bilge Aksu), were arrested, while the others were released under judicial control after four days in custody. The indictment against the two was accepted by the Eskişehir 2nd Heavy Penal Court, which later ruled it lacked jurisdiction and sent the cases to courts in the cities where the journalists had been detained.
The indictment cited the journalists’ news reports, online posts, and copyright payments from their employers as part of the charges. Both Uçar and Aksu were released at their first hearings on Jul 3 and Jul 8. (HA/VK)