Over the news report titled “Police raked the people in Nusaybin, wounding 3” and published on Evrensel newspaper on March 13, 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the then managing editor Çağrı Sarı and former grant holder Arif Koşar on charge of “publicly degrading the security organization of the state” as per the Article 301/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

While Sarı and Koşar, in their statements at court, said that the violations committed in Mardin’s Nusaybin during the 2-year period of curfew and operations following the end of the resolution process for the Kurdish question were also documented in UN reports, the two were sentenced to 5 years in prison each and the prison sentences were deferred. 

With the Court of Cassation overturning their conviction as the elements of the crime did not arise, the trial began again.

At the hearing of the retrial held on June 28, 2022, Devrim Avcı, the lawyer of Sarı and Koşar, was present in the courtroom. Seeing that the notification concerning the Court of Cassation’s overturning of the local court ruling had not been delivered to Arif Koşar’s address, the hearing was adjourned. The next hearing will be held on November 15 (June 28).

At the hearing held on November 15, 2022, the case file was sent to the prosecutor’s office for the preparation of the final opinion as to the accusations. The next hearing will be held on November 22 (November 15).

At the hearing held on November 22, 2022, the court ruled after 6 years that Sarı and Koşar should be acquitted (November 22).