Turkish independent journalist Nevşin Mengü has been sentenced to one year and three months in prison for an interview she conducted with YPG/PYD leader Salih Müslim.
A judge also ruled that Mengü’s prison sentence be delayed three years.
Journalist Nevşin Mengü is a well-known Turkish freelance journalist known for her YouTube series Bugün Ne Oldu? (What Happened Today?)
Nevşin Mengü prison sentence follows December interview with Müslim
Mengü’s original interview with Müslim aired on her YouTube channel on December 13th but was quickly removed following warnings from her lawyers.
Shortly after the video was taken down, Mengü was detained on charges of ‘openly spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization’. A statement from Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor accused Mengü of ‘statements praising the terrorist organization’ during her interview with Müslim.
Prior to the December interview, Mengü had travelled in northern Syria immediately following the fall of the Assad regime.
At a February 14th hearing on the case, Mengü denied the charges and defended her actions as being within the scope of her journalistic work.
Who is Salih Müslim?
Salih Müslim is the co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD). Müslim is classified by Turkey as a terrorist due to the PYD’s connections to the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia group.
The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which continues to control approximately one third of Syrian territory, primarily in the country’s northeast. Turkey recognizes the YPG as the Syrian armed of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
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