Amed (Diyarbakır)- The first hearing in the trial against 18 journalists, 15 of whom were held in pretrial detention for 13 months, was held by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court. Yesterday, the court issued the release of 15 journalists.

Last night, they were released from prison after 13 months in prison. The names of the journalists released yesterday are: Serdar Altan, co-chair of the Dicle and Firat Journalists Association (DFG); Aziz Oruç, the editor of the Mezopotamya Agency (MA); Mehmet Ali Ertaş, editor-in-chief of the Kurdish newspaper Xwebûn, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Ömer Celik, Mazlum Doğan Güler, İbrahim Koyuncu, Neşe Toprak, Elif Üngür, Abdurrahman Öncü, Suat Doğuhan, Remziye Temel, Ramazan Geciken, Lezgin Akdeniz and Mehmet Şahin.

They were welcomed by their colleagues, families, members of political parties and NGOs. After being released from prison, Remziye Temel said, “Yes, we are happy but also sad because some of our colleagues are still behind bars.”

‘We showed that the trial was unlawful’

Serdar Altan, co-chair of the Dicle and Firat Journalists Association (DFG), said, “It was a good day for all of us. We were behind bars for 13 months, 400 days. This trial was against journalists. We stood trial because we are Kurdish journalists. We showed that this trial is unlawful. And the court confirmed that.”

‘We will keep doing journalism’

Serdar Altan added, “Although we are outside today, we have many colleagues inside. Our families faced many difficulties for 13 months. The aim was to keep us away from journalism; however, our colleagues kept reporting. We have shown that the Free Press will never leave the pen of Apê Musa and Hafız Akdemir on the ground. We will keep doing journalism. We thank everyone showing their solidarity with us. We say again that Kurdish journalists will never be silenced.”