Rabia Çetin
At the second hearing of the trial against Eren Keskin, Co-President of the Human Rights Association (İHD), and Gülistan Yarkın, a member of İHD’s Commission Against Racism and Discrimination, the Istanbul 51st Criminal Court of First Instance heard arguments related to charges of "denigrating the state" (Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, TCK). The charges were based on statements made during a commemoration on the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2021.
The hearing was attended by Keskin and Yarkın, along with their lawyers Jiyan Tosun, Jiyan Kaya, Gülseren Yoleri, Ümmühan Kaya, Özcan Kılıç, Several Ballıkaya, and Gülizar Tuncer. Observers included representatives from the Saturday Mothers, Amnesty International, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) President Şebnem Korur Fincancı.
In the prosecutor's opinion, statements made during the April 24, 2021, press release, especially the part that stated, “More importantly, Turkey has realized, institutionalized, and widely disseminated the world’s most successful and longest-lasting genocide denial. The denial has been so successful that today, Armenians are forced to prove their thousands of years of existence in their homeland, let alone speak about the genocide they faced there,” were grounds for conviction under Article 301.
In response, Keskin argued, "If the judiciary of the Republic of Turkey accepts that international law supersedes domestic law, as stated in the constitution, then such a trial should not be opened. This case is against Article 10 of the ECHR. We are not insulting anyone; we are saying that what happened on April 24 was genocide, and this is my opinion. Who can interfere with our thoughts in this age? Those who promise to open archives every time the issue of genocide is brought up are the ones opening these cases against us. The words in the indictment were spoken with belief, and we are prepared to pay the price. Our freedom of expression is being violated with this case."
Yarkın also expressed her belief that the events of 1915 were the Armenian Genocide, viewing the case as a regression for everyone living in the Republic of Turkey.
Keskin and Yarkın's lawyer, Özcan Kılıç, added, "The event that the press statement refers to happened in 1915, when the Republic of Turkey did not exist, and the people were not yet called the Turkish nation. The perpetrators were the Committee of Union and Progress. They were not state organs, but a criminal network. There's no need to be this sensitive."
The defense lawyers requested additional time for a substantive defense. The trial has been adjourned until May 2 at 12 p.m.
(BA - 26 03 2023)
