Parliamentary Inquiry by CHP’s Tanrıkulu: Is Secularism Propaganda a Crime?

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Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu has submitted a parliamentary inquiry about Ministry of Interior’s Twitter post the Ministry informed Anti-Terror Bureau of those who called out “Secularism means freedom, a humane life” in Okmeydanı.

Cumhuriyet daily reported that daily’s intern Ayşegül Başar was pointed as a target via the Ministry’s Twitter account.

Başar’s apparment was raided by police at 6 a.m. this morning (December 2). Başar was taken into custody. As to the incident, CHP İstanbul MP Barış Yarkadaş saşd Başar was taken to a police station.

The people, who spoke out on secularism in a coffee shop in İstanbul’s district of Okmeydanı, were denounced to the Ministry of Interior with the message that “Terrorists are calling for a civil war”.

Upon that, the Ministry posted “It has been conveyed to anti-terror units. Please notify us wherever you see them”. The Ministry deleted the post upon reactions from social media.

In his parliamentary inquiry, Tanrıkulu posed questions such as “Is secularism propaganda a crime?”, “Is a citizen talking about secularism included in the scope of anti-terror?”, “Is the Minister of Interior [Süleyman Soylu] going to issue a statement about this matter?”. (AS/TK)