The 5th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır sentenced Managing Editor for DIHA, Dicle Müftüoğlu to a judicial fine corresponding to 1041 days of imprisonment on June 8, 2018. Müftüoğlu was on trial due to “legitimizing or praise the terror organization’s methods including force, violence or threats” regarding 20 news articles published by the agency in 2015. The agency has previously been shut down with an emergency decree.
On trial within the same case, the DİHA news agency’s former Executive Board Chairperson Zekeriya Gözüpek was acquitted and Müftüoğlu’s sentence was deferred. In case the journalist is sentenced to a penalty within a different case file within the next five years, the judicial fine will be additionally executed.