- Education Minister Yusuf Tekin announced that they had filed a lawsuit against the signatories of the declaration titled “We Defend Secularism Together,” however, there is not a filed lawsuit, but rather an investigation initiated upon the Ministry’s criminal complaint submitted to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
- In its petition, the Ministry defended the “Ramadan circular” and directed four separate accusations at the signatories.
- The Prosecutor’s Office sent a letter to the police for the identification of the addresses of the 168 signatories and began taking their statements.
Semra Pelek
The Ministry of National Education (MEB) filed a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against 168 people who signed the declaration titled “We defend secularism together.” While Minister Yusuf Tekin stated that “we filed a lawsuit,” there is not yet a filed public case in the file. Upon the Ministry’s petition, the Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation against the signatories on charges of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility,” “insulting the institutions and organs of the state” (TCK 301), “insulting a public official,” and “publicly disseminating misleading information,” known to the public as the “censorship law.”
The seven-page petition, bearing the subject line “criminal complaint” and prepared with the signature of the Ministry of National Education’s General Directorate of Legal Services, was submitted to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Feb. 20, 2026.
On Feb. 24, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a letter to the Security Branch Directorate of the Ankara Provincial Police Department, requesting that the addresses of the individuals who prepared and signed the declaration be identified and reported urgently. The Prosecutor’s Office began summoning the signatories of the statement titled “We defend secularism together” to give statements.
The investigation began with a complaint
In his public statement, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin announced that they had “filed a lawsuit” against those who signed the declaration. However, there is no filed public case in the file. The authority to initiate an investigation and file a case within the scope of the alleged crimes belongs to the prosecutor’s offices. For this reason, the process is at the investigation stage initiated upon the Ministry’s criminal complaint.
Although the name of the Ministry of National Education is not explicitly mentioned in the text of the declaration, the Ministry took part in the petition with the title of “informant/complainant.”
What is the accusation based on?
In the Ministry’s petition, it was argued that the events organized within the scope of the letter sent to the governorships of 81 provinces titled “Ramadan month activities at the heart of education within the scope of the Turkey Century Education Model” were targeted by the declaration. However, there is no direct reference in the declaration to the said letter or to Ramadan activities.
In the petition, those who prepared and published the declaration were shown as “suspects.” The signatories were directed the accusations of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility (TCK 216),” “publicly disseminating misleading information (TCK 217/A),” “insulting the institutions and organs of the state (TCK 301),” and “insulting a public official due to his/her duty (TCK 125/3).”
In the petition, it was requested that an investigation be initiated and a public case be filed against the relevant persons who prepared and published the declaration.
Emphasis on the Constitution and ‘nationality’
The Ministry argued that the Ramadan month activities were not merely an administrative act, but that they directly derive their basis from the Constitution. In the petition, references were made to Articles 2, 5, 24 and 42 of the Constitution.
In the text, it was stated, “The month of Ramadan in this country is not only a month of worship, but a part of cultural memory, solidarity, mutual assistance, sharing and the sense of social unity.” It was argued that values such as fitre, zakat, iftar tables, neighborhood awareness, patience and empathy are pedagogically meaningful. The expressions “national will,” “national values,” “national education policies,” and “national culture” were repeated in the petition.
The Ministry stated that participation in Ramadan month activities is based on the “principle of voluntariness” of students. It was claimed that the expressions in the declaration exceeded the limits of criticism and contained the elements of more than one crime.
The investigation is being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is expected that the Prosecutor’s Office will make a decision regarding the file after taking the statements of the signatories.
What was the declaration?
Following attacks by some groups against members of the Left (SOL) Party and party buildings, 168 people, including writers, academics, journalists and representatives of professional chambers, published a statement titled “We defend secularism together.”
In the statement, it was said that attacks against those defending secularism were being ignored, and the expressions “Defending secularism is not a crime. We defend secularism together, we reject Islamist impositions! We will not surrender to darkness!” were included.
