DİYARBAKIR - Journalist İsmail Çoban, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison for having the newspaper "Özgürlükçü Demokrat" in his ward, will be tried again. Çoban was sentenced from the same crime before and his sentence was suspended.

 

With the finalization of the prison sentence given to İsmail Çoban, the former Managing Editor of the newspaper Azadiya Welat, held in Tarsus No. 3 T Type Closed Prison, for possession of a "forbidden newspaper" in prison, Çoban will be tried again in the case.

 

İsmail Çoban, former Editor-in-Chief of the closed Azadiya Welat newspaper, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for having Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper and the clippings of this newspaper in prison, which was previously allowed in prison and was banned all of a sudden with a decision.

 

'HOW DID THE NEWSPAPER GOT IN THE PRISON?'

 

In his defense in the trial held at the Tarsus 8th Criminal Court of First Instance in March, Çoban said, "I am a subscriber and a former reporter of this newspaper and it was allowed before. They banned it later but I didn't know it was banned. And anyway, I am a prisoner here, how can I possibly get this newspaper inside of this prison? They must first explain how this newspaper got inside this prison. I am not the one who brought this newspaper in."

 

The court sentenced Çoban to 2 years in prison for "smuggling prohibited items into the penitentiary institution or prison". Çoban's prison sentence was finalised.

 

ÇOBAN WILL BE RETRIED

 

Upon the finalization of the decision, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court which sentenced Çoban to 1 year, 8 months and 25 days in prison for "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and postponed the announcement of the sentence submitted a report for a retrial. Accepting the report and examining the file, Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court reversed the decision of deferring the announcement of the verdict" and decided a retrial for Çoban.

 

The court set a date for 29 November for the first hearing of Çoban's retrial.