A Turkish court has sentenced journalist Pelin Ünker to 13 months' imprisonment for her participation in reporting the Panama Papers, a massive leak of documents from the tax-evasion enablers Mossack-Fonseca.



Ünker published the true (and undisputed) facts about former Binali Yıldırım and his sons, whose ownership of Maltese companies was revealed in the leaks. Despite the truth of the matter, Ünker was convicted of "defamation and insult."

Ünker is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.



The ICIJ's director, Gerard Ryle, condemned Ünker's jail sentence of 13 months, as the latest in a long series of attacks on free speech in Turkey. "This unjust ruling is about silencing fair and accurate reporting. Nothing more," Ryle said. "ICIJ commends Pelin Ünker's brave and truthful investigative reporting and it condemns this latest assault on journalistic freedom under Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's autocratic rule."

Journalist Pelin Ünker sentenced to jail in Turkey over Paradise Papers investigation [Julian Borger/The Guardian]