Lawyer Feyza Altun faces up to 3-year prison sentence for ‘sharia’ post

An investigation has been initiated against lawyer Feyza Altun in Istanbul for her social media posts, resulting in the preparation of a formal indictment.

The indictment requests a prison sentence ranging from 1 to 3 years for Altun on charges of “provoking the public into hatred and enmity."

The investigation into Altun was launched by the Beykoz Public Prosecutor's Office following her social media posts related to Sharia law.

Altun, who was later detained, was brought to the Beykoz Courthouse on Tuesday morning and released under judicial control, including a travel ban and bi-weekly police check-ins.

Altun denies the accusations

According to the Anadolu Agency, Altun, in her statement during the investigation, admitted to sharing the controversial post but denied insulting religious beliefs, emphasizing that Sharia is a political system, not a religion.

The indictment cites the definition of Sharia according to the Turkish Language Institution (TDK) as "Islamic law based on the verses of the Quran and the words of Prophet Muhammad."

"Clear and imminent danger to public safety"

The indictment also refers to a report prepared by the Istanbul Police Cyber Crimes Unit, stating that Altun's social media posts provoked intense reactions, with thousands of users feeling attacked in terms of their religious values. The document claims that a clear and imminent danger to public safety has emerged.

In this context, the indictment alleges that Altun, through her social media posts, committed the crime of "publicly inciting hatred and enmity by provoking one segment of the people with different characteristics in terms of religion against another segment."

The indictment calls for a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years for Altun on the charge of "publicly inciting hatred and enmity."

What happened?

Altun had posted a Persian poem on her X account two days ago, and a user ironically commented, "Feyza is having a shariah attack." In response, Altun wrote, "Screw sharia."

Expressing her reaction to subsequent comments, Altun shared a message, "The Republic of Turkey is secular and will remain secular."

The Beykoz Public Prosecutor's Office initiated a criminal investigation against Lawyer Feyza Altun, citing alleged violation of Article 216/1 of the Turkish Penal Code, which pertains to incitement against different segments of the population based on social class, race, religion, sect, or region, with a potential penalty of one to three years in prison. (EMK/VK)