Zehra Doğan, 28, is a reporter and an editor of the pro-Kurdish Jin News Agency (JİNHA), which is staffed entirely by women.
Doğan, also a painter, was arrested by the police on July 21, 2016 in the southeastern province of Mardin. She was jailed pending trial two days later on the charge of “being a member of a terrorist organization,” based on her reports from Nusaybin, a district in Mardin, her paintings about military operations in the district and an accompanying curfew, her social media posts and witness statements.
Doğan was subsequently formally charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” in an indictment.
On 2 March 2017, the court sentenced Doğan to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in jail for “terrorism propaganda.” The ruling was upheld by an appeals court on 2 June.
On 12 June 2017, Doğan was detained as she was traveling from Diyarbakır to Mardin and sent to Diyarbakır E-Type Prison to serve her prison term.
In October 2018, Doğan and 19 other inmates were transferred to the Tarsus Prison in Mersin against their wishes.
Doğan was released from the Tarsus Prison on 24 February 2019 upon the completion of her prison sentence.