Amed- The fifth hearing in the trial of 20 journalists on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on Tuesday.

 Three journalists, Ömer Çelik, Mehmet Şahin and Elif Zilan Üngür who are free pending trial, attended the hearing monitored by many journalists, the Mesopotamia Women Journalists’ Association, the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association and observers from the Amsterdam Law Clinic.

Resul Temur, Serdar Çelebi and Bahar Oktay, the lawyers of the journalists, were also present at the hearing.

All the defendants repeated their plea statements. T

At the hearing, Resul Temur requested that minutes be sent to the Anti-Terrorism Department (TEM) for the return of Journalists’ news equipment and materials that had been confiscated during the house raids. All lawyers requested the travel ban issued against their clients to be lifted.

The judge ruled that minutes will be sent to the Anti-Terrorism Department (TEM) for the return of Journalists’ news equipment and materials. However, the judge did not lift the travel ban issued against the journalists.

The next hearing will be held on May 15, 2025.