Nalin Öztekin
Adnan Vural, a member of the Health and Social Service Workers' Union (SES) and a former executive board member of Turkey’s Human Rights Association (İHD), was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for “terrorist propaganda” over his participation in a peace initiative’s press statement. However, the announcement of the verdict was deferred.
Vural had been on trial at Ankara’s 2nd High Criminal Court on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorist propaganda” for attending a 2016 press conference by the White Flag Initiative, a group known for its anti-war stance.
Prosecutor repeated indictment’s claims
At the third hearing of the case, Vural and his lawyers, Çiğdem Kozan and Kerem Altıparmak, were present in court, while members of İHD’s Ankara branch, SES, and poet Ahmet Telli attended in solidarity.
The prosecutor reiterated the opinion presented in the previous session, again calling for Vural’s conviction on both charges.
‘Copy-paste opinion, no real indictment’
In response, defense lawyer Kerem Altıparmak criticized the prosecutor’s approach, arguing that the case lacked legal substance:
"The prosecutor attended the second hearing, saw the defendant for 20 seconds, and issued a copy-paste opinion. Since there is no proper indictment, we have to base our defense on the original charges. The indictment was prepared solely from the police report, without any substantial basis. It even absurdly lists İHD, Turkey’s most established human rights organization, and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a legally recognized political party, as terrorist groups."
Altıparmak stressed that Vural’s peaceful and lawful expressions were unjustly turned into evidence of a crime:
"How does chanting ‘There is no salvation alone, either we all survive together, or none of us do’ during a press statement incite violence? If that’s the case, then Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu should be on trial too. Neither my client’s slogans nor his social media posts can be linked to violence. He has been under judicial control for five and a half years over baseless allegations. We demand his acquittal."
‘A government’s disapproval does not make a statement illegal’
Following Altıparmak, lawyer Çiğdem Kozan also criticized the case for lacking legal grounds:
"The prosecutor did not even bother to investigate or question my client during the trial. My client is a member of SES, and another SES member, Aziz Yural, was among the civilians killed in Cizre at that time. Defending civilian lives is the most natural thing one can do. We cannot label every statement the government dislikes as terrorist propaganda. Additionally, we know that illegally obtained evidence cannot be considered in court."
Vural: ‘This case was filed to justify my dismissal’
When given the final word, Vural reiterated that defending human rights should not be criminalized:
"This case was initiated just to justify my dismissal via emergency decree (KHK), but I will continue to defend human rights."
Verdict: acquitted of ‘membership,’ convicted of ‘propaganda’
After hearing the statements, the court acquitted Vural of “membership in a terrorist organization” on the grounds that there was no evidence proving the charge. However, it ruled that the “terrorist propaganda” charge was valid and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison. The announcement of the verdict was deferred, meaning the sentence will not be enforced unless he commits another offense within a set probation period.
