MLSA Legal Team- In a case where journalist Neşe İdil was charged with "terrorist propaganda," the reasoned decision of the court has been announced. The court highlighted that İdil did not claim in her defense statement that there was no ruling at the time of her social media posts indicating the YPG/YPJ were recognized as a terrorist organization.
Journalist Neşe İdil has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison by the 22nd High Criminal Court in Istanbul, in a case that has drawn attention for its unusual legal reasoning. İdil faced charges for "terrorist propaganda" linked to her social media posts dating back to 2015. Her defense, conducted by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), highlighted a critical point: at the time of İdil's posts, the Kurdish groups YPG (People's Protection Units) and YPJ (Women's Protection Units) had not been officially declared terrorist organizations by Turkey.
However, the court's reasoned decision controversially focused on the fact that İdil herself did not personally state in her defense that the YPG/YPJ were not recognized as terrorist groups at the time of her tweets, despite this argument being prominently made by her legal team. This distinction between İdil's personal defense and her lawyers' arguments has raised eyebrows, as it seems to undermine the usual practice of legal representation.
Lawyer Aydın emphasizes 'final court decision'
Aydın said, "According to the precedents of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, the legal recognition of an organization as a terrorist group depends on the court's decision. The Supreme Court's Criminal General Assembly's decision dated September 26, 2017, No. 2017/370, has established this as a consistent precedent. The Constitutional Court also refers to this Supreme Court precedent in its decisions, indicating that the PYD-YPG was first recognized as a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court 16th Criminal Chamber, based on a decision of the Mardin 2nd High Criminal Court dated September 17, 2014."
'Constitutional Court ruling arbitrarily interpreted'
Aydın pointed out that the YPJ was first recognized as a terrorist organization in a Supreme Court decision dated May 21, 2015, while İdil's tweet in question was posted on January 26, 2015. He argued, "Therefore, according to the high court precedents, punishing my client for this tweet depends on a definitive court decision that the YPJ was a terrorist organization at that time and that this was known to the appellant. Despite consistently arguing in court that the social media post in question did not constitute a crime and was part of a journalist's duty to inform the public, a first instance court arbitrarily interpreted the Constitutional Court's decision, using the fact that the legal defense was made by the lawyer and not the client herself as a reason for the conviction."
YPG and YPJ are are predominantly Kurdish militia forces based in northern Syria. They have been key players in the Syrian Civil War, particularly noted for their effective resistance against ISIS. The YPG and YPJ have garnered international attention and support, especially for the YPJ's role in empowering female fighters. However, the groups links with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), which Turkey, the United States, and the European Union classify as a terrorist organization, have led to Turkey to also classify these groups as terrorist organizations.
