Turkish prosecutors seek up to 10 years in jail for two journalists on charges of 'revealing state secrets'

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Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has prepared an indictment seeking between five and ten years in jail for two journalists and a noncommissioned officer on charges of “revealing state secrets,” online T24 news platform reported on Sept. 23.

Müyesser Yıldız, the Ankara news editor for the OdaTV online news portal, is facing charges with regards to her two articles about Ankara's military involvement in Libya. She has been in jail since June of this year.

One article published in December questioned which Turkish commanders met Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, while the second article published in January gave details about a military officer who was sent to Libya to oversee Turkey's involvement there.

İsmail Dükel, Ankara representative of broadcaster TELE1, was detained along with Yıldız on June 8, but was released a couple of days later on judicial control upon the court's order. It remains yet unclear for which broadcast(s) Dükel faces charges of defying the National Intelligence Law.

A third person facing charges in the same case in Erdal Baran, a noncommission officer at the Turkish military. Baran is accused of sharing “state secrets” with Yıldız and Dükel.

OdaTV and TELE1 have been critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. Turkey ranks among the top jailers of journalists across the world.

Critics say Erdoğan has used a failed 2016 coup as a pretext to clamp down on dissent and strengthen his grip on power, a charge Ankara denies. It says the measures are necessary to safeguard national security.