Eylem Sonbahar
A Turkish court held a hearing for director Kazım Öz, who is on trial for "terrorist propaganda" over wall writings featured in his film Zer, which was shot in Dersim. The prosecutor argued that the film served as a means of propaganda and called for Öz’s conviction.
The case, heard at Istanbul’s 24th High Criminal Court, stems from scenes at the 67th and 69th minutes of Zer, in which certain wall writings appear. The film follows the journey of Jan, who traces a song sung to him by his grandmother, Zarife, a survivor of the Dersim Massacre of 1938.
At the hearing, Öz and his lawyer Kürşat Bafra were present, along with academic Can Candan, theater actor Orhan Aydın, and several observers. Presenting his final opinion, the prosecutor claimed that the film’s release on YouTube went beyond the limits of criticism and amounted to justifying, praising, or encouraging violence by terrorist organizations.
‘The film does not aim to spread propaganda’
In response to the charges, Öz defended his work, stating, “We evaluate a film as a whole.” The presiding judge asked why the film included shots where the wall writings were clearly visible. Öz replied, “We couldn’t erase the slogans before filming. If the character is in Rize and there’s a wall writing there, we have to reflect that atmosphere. The film is not propaganda, and the wall writings simply reflect the setting.”
His lawyer, Kürşat Bafra, argued that the case should be dismissed due to the statute of limitations and requested that it be transferred to the relevant court in Tunceli, where the film was shot. “Out of a 110-minute film, three wall writings have been deemed criminal. These writings were not created by my client; they were on the walls months before filming,” Bafra stated.
Granting Bafra’s request for additional time to prepare a defense statement, the court postponed the trial to April 10 at 11:40 a.m.
