Two Vice News journalists from the United Kingdom who were detained in 2015 in southeastern Turkey have been acquitted of terrorism charges by a court in Diyarbakir.
| Vice reporters acquitted following 9-year trial in Turkey |
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| Left: Jake Hanrahan Right: Philip Pendlebury |
Reporter Jake Hanrahan (Left) and cameraman Philip Pendlebury (Right) were originally detained in September 2015 and deported to the United Kingdom following a week of detention in Adana.
A court in Diyarbakir ruled Monday (March 17) in favor of Hanrahan and Pendlebury.
In their trial in absentia, the two journalists were represented by their lawyer Törehan Büyüksoy. They faced charges of membership in a terrorist organization, spreading terror propaganda, and violating financing laws.
Although it was not publicly announced which terror group the two were allegedly tied two, their reporting at the time had focused on clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). News reports at the time of their arrest had also indicated that the two journalists had been accused of links to the Islamic State, which at the time controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
At the time of their arrest, Vice had criticized the charges as “baseless and alarming”.
Amnesty International had also called for both journalists’ release following their initial arrest, calling the charges “outrageous and bizarre.”
Hanrahan and Pendlebury’s reporting at the time had focused on clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK following the breakdown of a peace process in the 2013-2015 era. Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla group which vowed to disband this month. Since October 2024, Turkey has been pursuing a new process aimed at ending the 40-year old conflict. In late February, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a historic call for the group’s dissolution.
Vice reporters acquitted following 9-year trial in Turkey
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
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