- The MLSA Legal Unit appealed the Sept. 15 detention of journalist Tuğba Tekerek and requested her release.
- The petition stated that Tekerek had no institutional, managerial or volunteer affiliation with KAOS GL, and that the only commissioned news report included in the investigation was limited to journalistic activity.
- It emphasized that the accusations against Tekerek were based on abstract assumptions, without any technical surveillance data or concrete evidence.
ISTANBUL — The Legal Unit of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) appealed the detention of journalist Tuğba Tekerek. In its appeal against the Ankara 6th Criminal Judgeship of Peace’s Sept. 15 detention order, MLSA requested Tekerek’s immediate release without the imposition of judicial control measures.
The petition stated that Tekerek was detained on Sept. 13 as part of simultaneous operations carried out in numerous provinces and publicly referred to as the “My Family Is Safe” operation. As part of the operations, legal action was taken against 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses in 15 provinces. Part of the investigation in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, concerned allegations of “obscenity” and violations of the Law on Associations over certain content published on the KAOS GL Association’s website and social media accounts.
‘No institutional affiliation with KAOS GL’
The MLSA Legal Unit said Tekerek’s inclusion in the investigation did not stem from any institutional or managerial affiliation with KAOS GL.
The petition stated that Tekerek, who has worked as a journalist for about 20 years, was not a member, volunteer, employee or member of the executive or supervisory boards of KAOS GL. It also said that Tekerek was not an administrator of the association’s website or social media accounts.
It said Tekerek’s “only connection” to the publication at the center of the investigation was a news report she prepared while covering the 2024 elections in Georgia and submitted for publication on KAOS GL’s website. The petition said the news report was published in return for a freelance fee, which was paid into her bank account.
The petition also stated that Tekerek did not prepare or publish the social media presentation, headline, image or manner in which the news report was shared.
‘No concrete technical data’
The MLSA Legal Unit emphasized that there was no concrete evidence linking Tekerek to the accusations. The petition stated that the prosecutor’s referral letter used the abstract assertion that Tekerek was an “authorized user of the Instagram account according to a cyber determination,” without explaining what technical data this determination was based on.
The petition said: “No IP record, platform data, device examination, administrator record or any other concrete technical data showing that our client logged into the account, had access to the password, created posts or managed the account was presented in the detention order, nor were we able to find any such data in the case file. This is because no such data or factual basis exists.”
The petition stated that the detention order assessed Tekerek together with the other suspects by referring to their “positions within the association,” even though Tekerek held no position in the association.
The petition said: “What is even more striking is the reasoning behind the detention order. In ordering our client’s detention together with the other suspects, the Judgeship relied on the phrase ‘the suspects’ positions within the association.’ However, our client repeatedly explained during questioning that she held no position whatsoever within the association, and there is no evidence in the case file to the contrary. Despite this, a fact that does not exist in our client’s case was turned into a justification for depriving her of her liberty.”
Objection regarding the Law on Associations
The petition stated that Tekerek could not be held liable under Article 32/p of the Law on Associations. It said the provision regulates the liability of those who establish an association and certain association executives, while Tekerek was neither an executive of KAOS GL nor even a member of the association. The petition reiterated that Tekerek was not even a volunteer for the association.
The petition also cited the Constitutional Court’s rulings in the cases of Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Hasan Altan. It said those rulings established that, for journalistic activities to be treated as grounds for criminal suspicion, concrete facts linking those activities to the alleged offense must be demonstrated.
‘No risk of flight or evidence tampering’
The MLSA Legal Unit said Tekerek has a fixed residence and a professional career spanning about 20 years, and that the content and digital materials at issue in the investigation had already been identified, leaving no grounds to suspect that she might flee or tamper with evidence.
“There is no risk of flight or evidence tampering, and the detention is clearly disproportionate,” the petition said.
The legal unit also emphasized that a travel ban would hinder Tekerek’s journalistic work. Citing Articles 100 and 101 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petition said there was no concrete evidence or legal ground requiring her continued detention and requested Tekerek’s release without the imposition of judicial control measures.
