Arrest during street interview promotes self-censorship – DW – 24.08.2024

Vox Pops are very popular in Turkey. However, freedom of expression is not always free in Turkey and many people are afraid to take a public stance.

Dilruba K., however, did not mince her words. When she was interviewed by a YouTube channel on the street in Izmir last week, she criticized not only the Turkish government's blocking of Instagram, but also the official day of mourning for former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which was declared at about the same time.

“If you hand over the Republic of Turkey to a man in the 21st century, it means that he treats it like his father's farm,” she said. Her criticism of those who agreed with the ban was also provocative: “You are stupid because you hand over your freedom rights to a single person and consider them higher than God himself.” And she criticized the official day of mourning, commenting: “Why should I feel sad because some Arab died? I just don't care.”

“Incitement to hatred” and “insulting the President”

This was enough to get her arrested last week on charges of inciting hatred and insulting the president. She was acquitted of the second charge on August 20, but she remains in custody on the first charge and is due to appear in court on September 3.

The indictment was prepared unusually quickly. In her defense, the young woman said: “I did not attack any state institution or individual in my interview. I did not mean the president or any other individual.” She also apologized “if it came across wrongly.”

Veysel Ok is a lawyer who has represented many journalists, including The world Correspondent Deniz Yücel, who spent several months in prison in Turkey in 2017 and 2018 on charges of “terrorist propaganda.”

Ok stresses that the detention of Dilruba K. is illegal. “Some people may not like what someone says, but everything has to be considered in the context of freedom of expression. There is no legal basis for any of the legal steps taken so far,” says Ok.

Mücahit Birinci, a prominent member of the ruling AKP party, shares this opinion. “I condemn what this woman said. I am even angry because she said these things. But as a lawyer, I have to say that there is no room for debate. An arrest is not right,” he said. Birinci wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that one must also be fair to the person one is angry with.

Self-protection instead of the rule of law

Critics say this decision is about the survival of the ruling elite. “Criminals close to the government are rewarded with acquittals, while those who express critical opinions are punished. This shows that the Turkish legal system is no longer a legal system, but an absolute protection mechanism for the actions and statements of the government,” says Ok.

Political scientist Berk Esen from Sabanci University agrees. “The Turkish state used to have a few red lines, like Islamism or the Armenian genocide,” he says. “Apart from that, you could criticize anyone and anything, including the ruling party, the president, the prime minister. Today, there are no red lines like there used to be. The only red line is that the ruling elite looks after itself. Nowadays, the government sets the limits of freedom of expression. It restricts any opinion it thinks could threaten its existence.”

The goal is intimidation

Observers believe that the government's actions are intimidating millions of people. “By arresting them, they are trying to silence the voice of the people. The message is being sent to people that it is better to keep quiet,” says Hüseyin Yildiz, Dilruba K.'s lawyer.

Political scientist Esen suspects that the arrests could have a deterrent effect in the future. “Many people who previously expressed their opinions freely on the streets will now censor themselves. What the government is doing is not just arresting one person, but restricting everyone,” he says.

According to Ok, the government will continue to try to suppress critical voices. “The government wants to quickly silence complaints from the street,” says Ok. He believes the country is experiencing the beginning of a new wave of restrictions on freedom of expression: “Dilruba K. is not the first and will not be the last. She is one of many people who are in prison in Turkey today for freely expressing their opinions. This was just the beginning. We will see many more cases like this in the future, where someone is arrested on the street after an interview.”

This article was originally written in German.