By Hayri Demir
Documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin is again facing trial, this time due to a case of mistaken identity from nine years ago. The trial, which resumed after being overturned on appeal, includes an expert report wrongly identifying Tekin as someone else captured in footage from the incident.
Tekin, along with 10 others, was initially charged with "making propaganda for an organization" and "violating the freedom to work" for covering a protest by members of the Revolutionary Party at the NTV Ankara office in November 2015, aimed at protesting the G20 summit.
'I showed my press card, was not detained'
In her statement included in the indictment, Tekin explained that she was covering the protest as a documentary filmmaker. "Since 2013, I have been making documentaries about social movements in Ankara. On the day of the incident, I went to the site to film with my camera. When the police intervened, I showed them my press card. At the police station, they verified my press card, and I was not detained," Tekin stated.
The Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court sentenced Tekin to 10 months in prison for "making propaganda for an organization," but deferred the announcement of the verdict.
Appeal court overturns sentence due to insufficient investigation
The sentence was appealed, and the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice overturned it, citing insufficient investigation. The appellate court noted that it had not been determined whether Tekin entered the NTV building.
In the retrial at the Ankara 2nd High Criminal Court, the case file's photographs underwent a new expert examination.
Wrong identity report prepared
An expert report prepared during the case's recess mistakenly identified Tekin as one of the Revolutionary Party members who entered the building, despite her not entering. The report compared photos of Tekin with those of another individual and concluded that Tekin was the person in the images. The report also failed to identify any slogans attributed to Tekin that could justify the "propaganda" charge.
During the initial hearing on January 16, 2024, Tekin contested the expert report, stating that the person in the photo was not her and that she did not enter the building during the protest.
Tekin's lawyers requested a new identification and expert report by comparing the case file's photo with new photos of Tekin. The court accepted this request and decided to prepare a new expert report and call the person alleged to be Tekin, N.B.Y., as a witness.
The second hearing, held on May 14, was postponed to September 19 because the witness did not appear.
In December 2022, Tekin was detained and arrested following a raid on her home during the filming of her documentary "Life Begins in Darkness" after a tip-off. She was released after 44 days of detention and was acquitted at the end of the trial.
