Journalist Pelin Özkaptan has been sentenced to 1 year, 6 months, and 22 days in prison on charges of "making terrorist propaganda" due to social media posts she made regarding Eylem Ataş, a fighter who died while battling ISIS. The court, however, suspended the announcement of the verdict (HAGB), meaning the sentence will not be enforced unless Özkaptan commits another offense within the next five years.
The third hearing of the case, which was based on two of Özkaptan’s social media posts, took place at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. Although Özkaptan was not present, her defense was represented by lawyers Emine Özhasar and Hazal Sümeli from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
Defense challenges legality of evidence and charges
During the hearing, prosecutor's office reiterated its final opinion presented on May 28, 2024, which called for Özkaptan’s conviction. In response, Özkaptan’s lawyer, Emine Özhasar, argued that her client is a journalist who naturally shares information through social media. She emphasized that the indictment was based on an open-source police report, despite the Turkish Constitutional Court annulling the "virtual patrol" powers of the police in 2020.
Özhasar criticized the continued use of such practices, noting, "The police are still using this method, despite the Constitutional Court ruling that it is unconstitutional. According to Article 38 of the Turkish Constitution, evidence obtained unlawfully cannot be used in court. Therefore, this trial should not proceed based on these illegal findings."
Following this, lawyer Hazal Sümeli argued that the social media posts did not meet the criteria for terrorist propaganda. "For propaganda to exist, there must first be an act of propaganda. In this case, we only have an expression of opinion. We request the acquittal of our client," Sümeli said.
Court's decision
After a brief recess, the court found Özkaptan guilty of "making terrorist propaganda," handing her a prison sentence of 1 year, 6 months, and 22 days. The court then decided to suspend the announcement of the verdict, placing Özkaptan under a five-year probation period. If she does not commit another crime during this time, the case will be dismissed.
Background of the case
The charges against Özkaptan stemmed from her social media posts about Eylem Ataş, a Kurdish fighter who died while fighting against ISIS. Özkaptan’s posts, along with other material shared on Twitter, were used as evidence of propaganda. Her defense team argued that the posts were not propaganda but rather expressions of thought, protected under Turkey’s constitutional right to free speech.
