Turkiye: Journalist Rabia Çetin Charged For Retweeting News of Lawsuit
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the legal harassment of Çetin and calls for the case to be dropped
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: May 31, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe***Updated on Sep 13, 2023
After sharing news on Twitter about the prosecution of the father of murdered Kurdish political worker Deniz Poyraz, Prosecutors charge Rabia Çetin with acts of terrorism and insulting a public official. During the second trial hearing on September 13, 2023, of Çetin’s case, the prosecutor asked for acquittal of the insult charge. The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the prosecutor dropping the insult charge but condemns the continued harassment of journalists through the judiciary on the grounds of their professional activities and social media posts. We urge the prosecutor to drop the entire case against Çetin.
Journalist Rabia Çetin was investigated by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the charge of "targeting an official who took part in counter-terrorism” and “insulting a public official” over her social media posts relating to the prosecution of a murdered Kurdish woman’s father. On May 30, 2023, two police officers came to the journalist’s house to summon her to testify in İstanbul.
“Rather than responding to the justice calls of the Poyraz family, it is unacceptable to open an investigation into those who just shared what is happening,” Çetin tells CFWIJ. “As a journalist, I just shared the case's developments, nothing else. What are we going to do next? Should we be worried about what we retweet and post the views we observed?”
“Should we be worried about what we retweet and post the views we observed?”
On September 13, 2023, during the second trial hearing, the prosecutor argued for the journalist to be sentenced for "targeting an official who took part in counter-terrorism” but be acquitted of the insult charge. The reporter faces up to three years in prison if convicted. Çetin was absent at the hearing, and her lawyer requested more time to prepare her defense. The hearing was adjourned until November 6, 2023.
On June 17, 2021, a man stormed a local office of Turkiye's main pro-Kurdish party, HDP, and shot dead a 20-year-old woman, Deniz Poyraz, in the western city of Izmir. The killing prompted the party to blame a public government crackdown on it, which intensified in 2020. The assailant was identified later as local police officer Onur Gencer, and he said in a statement that he attacked out of hate for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.
After the assassination, Deniz’s father, Abdülillah Poyraz, talked with the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the killing of his daughter, calling her the “daughter of all Kurds.” The prosecutor filed charges against him following the interview, accusing Poyraz of spreading terrorist propaganda.
Çetin says investigations have been opened into her and other journalists and lawyers who shared the post on Twitter.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is deeply concerned about the legal processes initiated against journalists. Policies of intimidation applied legally towards journalists who only carry out their journalistic activities have become extremely alarming. We demand the Turkish authorities immediately drop charges against Rabia Çetin and allow journalists to do their job freely.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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