Former human rights official faces charges over statement on Armenian Genocide
Fatin Kanat, the former co-chair of the Ankara branch of Turkey's Human Rights Association (İHD), faces charges of "insulting the Turkish state" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for a statement on the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed the indictment based on a statement shared on social media, which called for an end to denial of the genocide. The statement was prepared by the İHD’s Commission Against Racism and Discrimination.
The indictment claims that the statement undermines the Turkish Republic, prompting the prosecutor to accuse Kanat of publicly denigrating the state. The controversial Article 301 has long been criticized for stifling freedom of expression, especially in cases involving sensitive historical and political issues like the Armenian Genocide, which Turkey does not officially recognize. The prosecutor's office sought permission from the Ministry of Justice to proceed with the investigation, as required by the law, and permission was granted.
The Turkish police also conducted an open-source investigation to confirm the statement had been shared via social media accounts linked to the İHD's Ankara branch. The prosecution argues that because the statement was publicly accessible online, it meets the criteria for defamation under Article 301.
Despite the inclusion of international conventions protecting free speech in the eight-page indictment, the prosecutor argued that the statement exceeded the limits of freedom of expression. The statement was deemed contrary to Turkey’s national interests and historical truths, with the prosecution using the term "so-called" when referring to the Armenian Genocide. The prosecutor also asserted that civil society groups acting against Turkey’s interests cannot be protected under the law.
The 56th Ankara Criminal Court accepted the indictment, and the first hearing is scheduled for September 26, 2024.
The case is similar to previous prosecutions under Article 301. In recent years, the same prosecutor has pursued charges against 10 individuals for similar statements, including former members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Öztürk Türkdoğan, another former co-chair of the İHD. All were charged in relation to public statements on the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey has consistently rejected claims that the mass killings of Armenians during World War I constituted genocide, a stance that has drawn international criticism, particularly from countries and organizations that have recognized the events as genocide.
