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Journalists Accused of Revealing Secrets on Trial in Turkey

A support rally for journalists imprisoned in Turkey, accused of revealing the identity of two Turkish secret agents in Libya, in Ankara, March 10, 2020. (AFP)
A support rally for journalists imprisoned in Turkey, accused of revealing the identity of two Turkish secret agents in Libya, in Ankara, March 10, 2020. (AFP)
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Journalists Accused of Revealing Secrets on Trial in Turkey

A support rally for journalists imprisoned in Turkey, accused of revealing the identity of two Turkish secret agents in Libya, in Ankara, March 10, 2020. (AFP)
A support rally for journalists imprisoned in Turkey, accused of revealing the identity of two Turkish secret agents in Libya, in Ankara, March 10, 2020. (AFP)

Seven journalists went on trial on Wednesday, accused of revealing state secrets for their reports on the funeral of an intelligence officer who was killed in Libya.

The journalists from Odatv news website, the pro-Kurdish newspaper Yeni Yasam and the nationalist daily Yenicag have been charged with violating national intelligence laws and of revealing secret information. If convicted, they face between eight and 19 years in prison, reported The Associated Press.

Odatv editor-in-chief Baris Pehlivan, editor Baris Terkoglu, reporter Hulya Kilinc and Yeni Yasam newspaper’s editor-in-chief Ferhat Celik and news editor Aydin Keser were charged over their reports on the intelligence officer who died in February as well as Turkey’s military activity in Libya.

Murat Agirel, a columnist for Yenicag, and Erk Acarer, a columnist for the left-leaning BirGun newspaper, are accused of revealing the intelligence official’s identity on social media. Acarer is abroad and will be tried in absentia.

Eren Ekinci, an employee of the municipality where the intelligence officer’s funeral took place, is accused of providing information to the Odatv reporter.

The prosecutors have accused the defendants, who have been held in pre-trial detention since March, of acting “in a systematic and coordinated manner.” Critics of the case say the intelligence officer was previously identified during discussions in Turkey’s parliament and that his name was no longer a secret.

Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse in Istanbul to show solidarity with the journalists.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, has called on Turkey to drop the charges.

“Turkey should stop attempting to control independent journalism with intimidation, immediately free the arrested journalists, and drop this case,” the group’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, Gulnoza Said, said in a statement on May 13.

The CPJ ranks Turkey among the top jailers of journalists worldwide.

About 80 journalists and other media workers are currently in jail under Turkey’s broad anti-terrorism laws, according to the Turkish Journalists Syndicate, including many who were detained in a crackdown following a 2016 coup attempt.

Turkey maintains that the journalists are prosecuted for criminal acts and not for their journalistic work.

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Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)

Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before a deadline next week suspending America's refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.

Thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution and had gone through a sometimes yearslong process to start new lives in America are now stranded at various locations worldwide. That includes more than 1,600 Afghans who assisted America's war effort, as well as relatives of active-duty US military personnel.

President Donald Trump paused the refugee resettlement program this week as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration. His move had left open the possibility that refugees who had been screened to come to the US and had flights booked before the Jan. 27 deadline might be able to get in under the wire.

But in an email dated Tuesday and reviewed by The Associated Press, the US agency overseeing refugee processing and arrivals told staff and stakeholders that "refugee arrivals to the United States have been suspended until further notice."

There are a little more than 10,000 refugees from around the world who had already gone through the lengthy refugee admission process and had travel scheduled over the next few weeks, according to a document obtained by the AP. It was not immediately clear how many of those had been set to arrive by upcoming deadline.

Among those are more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to come to the US as part of the program that the Biden administration set up after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Many veterans of America's longest war have tried for years to help Afghans they worked with, in addition to their families, find refuge in the US. Many were prepared for a suspension of the resettlement program but had hoped for special consideration for the Afghans.

"The Trump administration’s early pause of refugee flights is alarming, leaving thousands of Afghan allies in fear and uncertainty," said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts. "We are ready to partner to fix this and urge clear communication with impacted families. Let’s honor our promises and uphold America’s values."

There is a separate path — the special immigrant visa program— specifically for Afghans who worked directly with the US government. VanDiver's group said that program, set up by Congress, did not appear to be affected at this time.

Trump's order signed Monday had given the State Department a week before it began to halt all processing and traveling. It appears the timing was moved up, though it was not immediately clear what prompted the change.

The State Department referred questions to the White House.

Agencies that help refugees settle and adjust to life in America have argued that this is the type of legal immigration that Trump and his supporters say they like and have pointed to the stringent background checks and sometimes yearslong wait that refugees endure before setting foot in America.

"This abrupt halt to refugee admissions is devastating for families who have already endured unimaginable hardship and waited years for the chance to rebuild their lives in safety," Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, head of Global Refuge, one of the 10 US resettlement agencies, said in a statement Wednesday.

"Refugees go through one of the most rigorous vetting processes in the world, and many are now seeing their travel canceled just days, or even hours, before they were set to begin their new lives in the United States," she said. "It’s utterly heartbreaking."

Refugees are distinct from people who come directly to the US-Mexico border with the goal of eventually seeking asylum. Refugees must be living outside of the US to be considered for resettlement and are usually referred to the State Department by the United Nations.

While the resettlement program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, the first Trump administration also temporarily halted resettlement and then lowered the number of refugees who could enter the country annually.