Istanbul- The first hearing of the trial against journalist Necla Demir Arvas was held at the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court on Monday. Necla Demir Arvas, who has been held in pretrial detention since January 20, 2025, and her lawyers were present at the hearing monitored by the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (Turkish: Mezopotamya Kadın Gazeteciler Derneği, MKG), the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association (Turkish: Dicle Fırat Gazeteciler Derneği, DFG), DİSK Basın-İş and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).

At the hearing, Necla Demir Arvas said that she stood trial for her journalistic activities. “My journalism is standing trial here. I produce programs and these programs are used by various media outlets. I do not care who uses my programs. I reviewed the indictment prepared against me and its contains nothing to be considered a crime. I produce a program called ‘Politik Kadın’ and work for Güncel Production Company. The program is a program about women’s issues. A number of people were called as news sources. Calling them is not a crime. The indictment was prepared based on abstract claims, not concrete evidence.”

Her lawyer Şükrü Alpsoy demanded the release of Necla Demir Arvas. The prosecutor demanded Necla Demir Arvas be sentenced to prison on charges of “membership in an illegal organization” and the continuation of her pretrial detention.

The journalist denied all accusations against her and demanded her release. The court ruled the release of Necla Demir Arvas after sentencing her to two years and one month in prison on charges of “aiding an illegal organization”.