A criminal case has been filed against filmmaker Rojhilat Aksoy under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code on the charge of “publicly insulting the organs of the state” due to the screening in Diyarbakır of the animated film Aurora’s Sunrise, which addresses the Armenian genocide.
Diyarbakır - The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed a case against Rojhilat Aksoy, who at the time was the vice president of the Middle East Cinema Academy Association, on charges under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code following the screening of the film Aurora’s Sunrise, which tells the story of the Armenian Genocide.
The prosecutor’s office filed charges against Aksoy over sentences appearing in the animated film screened on Dec. 17, 2024, at the Sezai Karakoç Culture Center. Because Aksoy submitted the petition for the film’s screening, prosecutors demanded that he be punished for “publicly insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state.”
The indictment prepared after the investigation included excerpts from the film, which narrates the 1915 Armenian genocide. It stated that “the events of 1915 were portrayed as genocide, that the rebellions that broke out during that period were characterized as ‘the justified struggle of freedom fighters,’ and that Armenians living in the region were depicted as having their names and religion forcibly changed and being subjected to inhumane treatment.” Dialogues from the film were cited as evidence for the accusations.
The prosecutor’s office also claimed that depictions in the film suggesting Armenian men were taken into the Ottoman army and never returned were contrary to reality and constituted a crime. It further alleged that another scene — describing bodies found in a river and soldiers taking children from their mothers — falsely attributed such acts to Turkish soldiers. In the indictment, the phrase “by describing a non-existent event as if it had occurred” written under the dialogues also drew attention.
Rojhilat Aksoy, who is on trial because his name appeared on the petition requesting permission for the screening, said in his defense statement that the film falls within the scope of freedom of expression and that he does not accept the accusations. The indictment seeks his punishment under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The second hearing of the case will be held on April 6 at 10:15 a.m. at the Diyarbakır 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance.
