Ruling party politician initiated legal proceedings against the reporter, claiming she insulted Turkish sovereignty

Location: Turkiye, Istanbul
Date: November 7, 2023

The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the decision to acquit journalist Semra Çelebi of all charges concerning her 2020 tweet. We urge Turkish prosecutors to take note of this decision and cease launching costly and time-consuming legal probes into journalists because of their social media activities. Journalists must be free to report and express themselves on social media without fear of legal retaliation from the state. 

On November 7, Gazete Kadıköy’s Editor-in-Chief, Semra Çelebi, was acquitted of all charges related to her 2020 tweet about a Pride March. The case was brought against her by Aydoğan Ahıakın, a politician with the Justice and Development Party, who accused Çelebi of various offenses, including "openly disrespecting the state's sovereignty."

The prosecution initially issued a non-prosecution decision, citing a lack of evidence that Çelebi's tweet disrespected the Turkish flag. However, Ahıakın, claiming to be a "victim" of Çelebi's tweet, filed an objection.

In response to the objection, the Istanbul Anatolian 8th Peace Criminal Court lifted the non-prosecution decision and initiated the lawsuit. The court's decision to proceed with the case hinged on their interpretation of a specific expression in Çelebi's tweet: "It is the LGBTQI who make flags." 

Çelebi used the word “ibne” to refer to the LGBTQI community. The government and its supporters, predominantly those aligned with Erdoğan, frequently use the term "ibne" — a derogatory term akin to "fag" or "pimp" — to refer to LGBTQ individuals. However, the LGBTQI community has embraced this term, employing it amongst themselves in a reclamation effort aimed at stripping the word of its derogatory power when used by adversaries. 

The prosecution argued, however, that the tweet, which refers to Mithat Cemal Kuntay's poem "On the 15th Anniversary," was disrespectful to the poem's intentions, which sought to honor the Turkish flag on its 15th anniversary. The case hinged on the court’s interpretation of the word “ibne.”

Çelebi's lawyer, Fatih Aydın, staunchly defended his client, asserting that the term "ibne" (Turkish for "f----t") in Çelebi's tweet was not intended as an insult. Aydın emphasized that Çelebi's tweet was shared in support of the LGBTQI community and argued that "LGBTI+ individuals are a part of the 81 million citizens of this country. The flag is also their flag. He maintained that Çelebi's use of the term “ibne” was not disrespectful to the flag.

The court ruled in favor of Çelebi's acquittal, stating that "elements of crime were not present." 

While Çelebi's case concluded in an acquittal, it is unfortunately not an isolated incident. CFWIJ has extensively documented numerous cases where Turkish authorities have targeted and pressed charges against women journalists for their social media activities. In July, five journalists, including three women, were detained for merely retweeting news related to the reassignment of a prosecutor. In September, Kurdish journalist Rojin Altay received a 15-month suspended sentence for retweeting. These heavy-handed responses to the sharing of information on social media exemplify the continuous threats against the press in Turkiye.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism applauds the court’s decision in the case against Semra Çelebi. It affirms the importance of freedom of expression and demonstrates that journalists should not be prosecuted for expressing their views on social and political issues. We urge judges in Turkiye to take heed of this ruling and dismiss all baseless lawsuits leveled at journalists, including for their social media posts.

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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