Turkey demands 15-year prison sentences for Kurdish journalists

A Turkish court accepted an indictment against two Kurdish journalists which demands 15-year prison sentences for each.

Journalists Zekeriya Gozipek and Dicle Muftuoglu are accused of being members of a terrorist organization.

Gozipek was the coordinator of DIHA news agency, which has been banned by decree in Turkey. And Muftuoglu was the editor in chief.

Gozipek and Muftuoglu are facing imprisonment of 15 years.

The indictment was prepared by Diyarbakir Prosecutor's Office after a complaint filed by Hüseyin Adalan, a resident of Erzincan in 2015. The indictment lists 20 news published by DIHA in November 2015, stating that Zekeriya Güzüpek and Dicle Müftüoğlu are members of a terrorist organization.

The first trial in the trial of the two journalists will take place on March 22, 2018 in the 5th Criminal Court Diyarbakır.