Lawyer charged with propagandizing for revolutionary group dissolved 50 years ago

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Having an investigation against because of a social media post on the May 19 Commemoration of Atayütk, Youth and Sports Day, lawyer Efkan Bolaç was interviewed by prosecutors about his other posts today (April 19).

Last week, prosecutors ordered a detailed examination of Bolaç's mobile phone and social media posts.

CLICK - Lawyer Efkan Bolaç's phone to be seized for 'search for indications of a crime'

Because of his Twitter posts, Bolaç was accused of making propaganda for the People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C), a revolutionary group that was active in the early 1970s, and was charged with "praising a crime and a criminal" as per Turkish Penal Law Article 215.

"Mahir Çayan wasn't a convict"

"Mahir Çayan [the THKP-C leader] was a person who loved his country. He had a dream of a fully independent Turkey. And I shared it because I also think the dream of a fully independent Turkey is the right one.

"One of the posts about Mahir Çayan in the file is a newspaper clipping dated 1971. An investigation had been previously opened because of a post with the clipping, in which there is a banner reading 'I know the murderer.' I had later learned that I had been removed from the investigation.

"Moreover, there is not an element of crime in this post. As there is no propaganda for an organization in any of my posts, there is not an organization named THKP-C right now. If we review in terms of 'praising the crime and the criminal,' Mahir Çayan has no conviction.

Another charge for a retweet

Bolaç was also charged with "insulting judicial authorities" for retweeting another user's tweet.

The post in question was a criticism that the judiciary was not independent, said Bolaç.

The lawyer whose social media posts were reviewed in detail was also asked about his tweets on Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, two people who had conducted a hunger strike for months after being dismissed from public service, Berkin Elvan, a 14-year old boy who was killed after being hit by a tear gas canister in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, and the case of the 2014 Soma mine explosion er where 301 workers lost their lives. (AS/VK)