Süleyman Acar, the editor-in-chief of the Mücadele Birliği newspaper, and Songül Yücel, the editor-in-chief of the Önsöz maganize, and Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter were detained on March 24, 2018.
Charged with “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” over their social media posts about Turkey’s Afrin operation, Acar, Yücel and Ünal stood trial at the İstanbul 36th High Criminal Court.
At the hearing held on March 9, 2021, the court board sentenced Süleyman Acar, Songül Yücel and Serpil Ünal to 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison for “propagandizing for a terrorist organization. While the pronouncement of the verdicts of Yücel and Ünal has been deferred, that of Acar has not been deferred as she was penalized on another charge before (March 9).