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Journalist on trial in Turkey for alleged pro-PKK tweets
ISTANBUL – A Kurdish journalist charged with engaging in terrorist propaganda for a series of Twitter posts has gone on trial in Turkey.
Hamza Aktan, former news director for pro-Kurdish IMC-TV, faces up to five years in prison for posting 17 tweets or re-tweets that Turkish prosecutors deemed to be propaganda on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Aktan joins a long list of journalists and human rights defenders who have been prosecuted under Turkey’s broad anti-terrorism laws.
Aktan’s lawyers argued during an opening hearing on Thursday that some of the postings did not belong to him and insisted that none promoted violence. The trial was adjourned until Jan. 10.
The government ordered IMC-TV shut earlier this month based on alleged links to the PKK. IMC-TV denies the accusation.
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