Turkiye: Prosecutor Seeks Prison Sentence for Elif Akgül Over Social Media Posts
Charges against Akgül are attempt to intimidate and penalize critical reporting rather than addressing any legitimate concerns of national security
Location:Turkiye, IstanbulDate: April 2, 2024
Women Press Freedom is deeply troubled by Elif Akgül facing a potential 13.5 years behind bars over two tweets in 2018 and 2022, respectively. The first tweet, dating back to 2018, expressed her views on a Turkish military operation in Syria, while the second, from 2022, raised concerns about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Turkish Armed Forces in Northern Iraq. The severity of the charges, accusing her of engaging in "terrorist organization propaganda," and apparent selectiveness of the supposed terror-related tweets raise serious questions; why would law enforcement agencies invest valuable time and resources in prosecuting a journalist for years-old social media posts? The prosecution of the Akgül appears vindictive and targeted, a malicious attempt to silence an outspoken and critical journalist. Women Press Freedom stands in solidarity with Akgül, and all journalists in Turkiye who face bogus charges for their reporting. We call upon the court to dismiss these charges and allow Akgül to continue her work free from legal harassment or the looming threat of imprisonment.
“I am a journalist, my posts that are the subject of the case also contain news content. For the crime of terrorist propaganda to occur, there must be a call for force and violence. However, there is no call for force or violence in my posts. "I am innocent, I want my acquittal," stated Elif Akgül in her defense at a hearing at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on April 2, 2024.
Akgül, a former manager at DİSK Basın-İş, is facing criminal charges and a lengthy prison sentence based on accusations arising from reports by both the police and the gendarmerie.
The investigation into Akgül's social media activity was initiated by the Samsun Police Department on November 21, 2022. Despite no previous complaints regarding Akgül's posts, the investigation expanded to include multiple of her tweets.
An issue of jurisdiction emerged during the investigation, with the Samsun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office deferring the case to Istanbul leading the Istanbul Gendarmerie Command's Anti-Cyber Crimes Department to take charge of the probe.
After examining Akgül's social media presence, the gendarmerie report was forwarded to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which selected two specific posts for further scrutiny.
The prosecutor's office decided to pursue charges of "organization propaganda" against Akgül, asserting that she had engaged in such activity through her posts, spanning nearly five years apart.
One of the posts selected by the prosecutor was an ETHA's news report from October 2022, shared by Akgül on Twitter, about the Turkish Armed Forces allegedly using chemical weapons in Northern Iraq. Secondly, the prosecutor chose a tweet on the Turkish military’s Afrin Operation that Akgül shared on January 20, 2018.
The indictment claims that Akgül "legitimized” the People's Defense Units (YPG), and Democratic Union Party (PYD) with her 2018 tweet. PYD is a Kurdish political party that governs in Rojava, Syria, while the YPG is a mainly Kurdish militant group in Syria. Both the YPG and PYD are designated as terrorist organizations in Turkiye.
The prosecutor also alleges that "membership in the organization was legitimized" by Akgül because of the use of the word "guerrilla" in the ETHA's news report on the chemical weapons claim.
The prosecutor is using these two tweets to prove that the crime of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" was committed.
At the trial’s first hearing on April 1, 2024, Akgül's lawyer Fatih Aydın defended his client and argued her posts were news-related and relevant to her profession as a journalist. He demanded acquittal, saying "There were no elements of the propaganda crime in the posts."
In response, the prosecutor requested that Akgül be punished for the crime of “terrorist organization propaganda." Akgül and her lawyer requested time to make a statement against this opinion.
The court accepted the request for time and postponed the case to June 27, 2024.
Violations against journalists in Turkey are frequent and alarming. Women journalists are arbitrarily detained, harassed with lawsuits, and imprisoned for criticizing the state. The Erdogan government has shown complete disregard for press freedom and continues to exert control over state media outlets. Women Press Freedom has further extensively documented numerous cases where Turkish authorities have targeted and pressed charges against journalists for their social media activities. In July 2023, five journalists, including three women, were detained for merely retweeting news related to the reassignment of a prosecutor. In September 2023, Kurdish journalist Rojin Altay received a 15-month suspended sentence for retweeting. These heavy-handed responses to sharing information on social media exemplify the continuous threats against the press in Turkiye.
Women Press Freedom denounces the criminal charges brought against Elif Akgül. The journalist is facing over a decade in prison for two news-related tweets over four years. The terror charges being brought against her for her social media posts are utterly bogus. We urge the criminal court in Istanbul to dismiss the charges against Akgül who is clearly being prosecuted for her work as a journalist.
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