Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: April 6, 2021

Available in: 🇹🇷  Türkçe

The first hearing of the trial against journalist Melis Alphan on the charge of "spreading terrorist propaganda" was held today in Istanbul. The court postponed the next hearing to 21 May 2021. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns this unjust case against the journalist. We demand Melis’s acquittal immediately.

Journalist Melis Alphan was sued for a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda" due to the photo she shared on her Instagram account at the Newroz (Spring Festival) event held in Diyarbakır in 2015. The first hearing of the case was held at the Istanbul 32nd High Criminal Court today. Melis Alphan and her lawyers were present at the court.

The court started with the defence of Melis Alphan. She did not accept any of the accusations against her. The journalist said, "The picture shown as an element of the crime is a frame from the Nevruz celebrations in Diyarbakır in 2015 with the permission of the state and broadcast on all television channels including TRT.”. Stating that she was not there in person at the event, she added, "In my journalism career, I addressed social policies and social problems rather than the solution process that the government gave great importance to at that time."

Underlining that the event was legally organized with the approval of the governorship, Melis continued that the picture she shared was also featured in many mainstream news outlets. "If I'm here today, half of the media organisations from Yeni Şafak to Hürriyet, Milliyet to CNN Türk should be here too," she said.

"WE DID NOT HEAR SUCH A JURISDICTION PROCESS HAS BEEN INITIATED AGAINST THE HOME SECRETARY OR THE MINISTERS FROM THAT PERIOD"

Emphasizing that the political leaders of the time, other than herself, were not prosecuted considering the criminal elements in question, Melis said, "I was sued because I shared a photo, but we did not hear that a judicial process was initiated against the Diyarbakır Governor, the police chief, the Home Secretary Efkan Ala and other parliament members who were there that day."

"It shouldn't be that simple to call someone a" terrorist ", claiming that they are “spreading terrorist propaganda," and even lead their way to courtrooms." Using her elements, Melis Alphan added that her social media account was examined due to a post dating back six years ago.

“NEITHER CONSCIENCE NOR LAW CAN EXPLAIN MY SITUATION”

Melis Alphan continued, “I find it difficult to believe that my freedom is being taken away from me just because I posted a photo on Instagram. Neither conscience nor law

can explain this. This accusation against me has nothing to do with the law. It is not possible to understand the purpose of this scantily written indictment. If the purpose is aiming to send a message somewhere, I am not in charge of this. I did not commit a crime.

After her defence, the journalist requested her acquittal from the court. Her lawyer Sevgi Kalan, followed her statement after Melis’s defence. According to the report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), lawyer Kalan said "Expressions of opinions that do not exceed the limits of reporting do not constitute a crime", which was brought to the Anti-Terror Law within the scope of the latest reforms, was not taken into consideration in the lawsuit filed against her client. Kalan said, "There is neither praise for violence nor an expression of sympathy ...".

Lawyer Tolgay Güvercin followed Sevgi Kalan. He reminded the court of the latest decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal regarding the propaganda offence. Güvercin said, "The Supreme Court of Appeals is looking for a call to violence, an invitation to armed revolt, hate speech from this case.” “The investigation prosecutor has not even explained how he made a propaganda crime from this picture,” he added.

After the defences, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence journalist Melis Alphan for "spreading terrorist propaganda". The court gave the journalist and her lawyers additional time to make statements against the prosecutor's requests. The next hearing was postponed to May 21, 2021.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the accusations against journalist Melis Alphan. It is unacceptable for journalists to be prosecuted unfairly on "terrorism" accusations of their social media posts. We believe that such false accusations are a new method used to intimidate and silence journalists. We demand the Turkish authorities approach the incidents in common sense and adopt those to meet the criteria of press freedom. We will follow Melis’s trial closely and stand with her solidarity. Journalism is not a crime.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.

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