Actress facing prison term for ‘insulting’ a soldier charged with sexual assault

* Photo: Evrensel

Click to read the article in Turkish

Having committed suicide in Turkey's southeastern province of Batman, İpek Er lost her life 34 days later, on August 18, 2020, while she was in treatment at hospital. Having left a letter behind, she said that gendarmerie officer Musa O. had sexually assaulted her.

On duty in Siirt province, Musa O. was indicted by the Siirt Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the indictment was accepted by the Siirt 1st Heavy Penal Court. O. is now facing a minimum of 12 years in prison on charge of "aggravated sexual assault." While Musa O. was not arrested pending trial, the incident caused a huge public backlash, especially on social media.

Actress Ezgi Mola was also one of the hundreds of people who protested on social media. On August 20, 2020, she wrote on Twitter, "Drown in your conscience that has freed the rapist bastard. You have taken everything from us, the law, prayers, wishes, desires, requests, hopes!! What should I say! Shame on you! Shame on you!! #ArrestMusaOrhan."

She faces 2 years, 4 months in prison

Mehmet Erkan Akkuş, the attorney of Musa O., applied to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint about this social media post. Mola has been indicted upon his criminal complaint on charges of "insult with audio, written or visual message" and "insult".

Facing up to 2 years, 4 months on the offenses charged, Mola's indictment has been accepted by the Ankara 31st Penal Court of First Instance.

'She declined to apologize'

Attorney Akkuş has made a statement about the issue. Referring to the "lynch culture spreading quickly like a disease," Akkuş has argued that "Ezgi Mola had no information about the file and took a fake document intentionally spread on social media from a single source as truth."

Claiming that Mola "paved the way for tens of thousands of curses and threats against his client by pinning the related post" on her Twitter account "for months", the attorney has said, "We had to file a complaint as she declined to release a message of apology."

Growing support on social media

After the lawsuit was reported in the press, it has also sparked an outrage on social media. Several social media users have underlined that Musa O. is not arrested pending trial. Among the ones who have expressed their criticisms are İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, musician Fazıl Say, singer Hadise, actress Hazal Kaya and actor İbrahim Selim.

The hashtag #EzgiMolaYalnızDeğildir (Ezgi Mola is not alone) has also become a trending topic. Some of these messages are as follows:

Az bile söylemişsin sevgili @ezgimola sonuna kadar yanındayım, destekliyorum bunları söylemek suç ise ben de ortak oluyorum #ezgimolayalnızdeğildir pic.twitter.com/J2BtAR5QUS

— Metin Uca (@MetinUca) June 2, 2021

TV presenter - writer Metin Uca: "You understated it, dear Ezgi Mola. I am on your side till the end, I defend it. If it is a crime to say these, I am a party to this crime. Ezgi Mola is not alone."

Tecavüzcünün kim oldugunu biliyoruz.Tek bilmediğimiz onu kimlerin koruduğu?#EzgiMolaYalnızDeğildir #EzgiMola pic.twitter.com/JF1PO9B6sE

— Zeynep Beserler (@zeynep5erler) June 2, 2021

Actress Zeynep Beşerler: "We know who the rapist is. What we don't know is who protects him. Ezgi Mola is not alone."

Tabii ki tecavüzcüye “tecavüzcü” diyeceğiz. #EzgiMolaYalnızDeğildir https://t.co/k78pjw5dwt

— Feryal Öney (@OneyFeryal) June 2, 2021

Musician Feryal Öney: "We will of course call a rapist a 'rapist'. Ezgi Mola is not alone."

Tecavüzcüye tecavüzcü denir. Nokta. Neyi koruyorsunuz? #EzgiMolaYalnızDeğildir

— Pelin Batu (@pelinbatutr) June 3, 2021

Historian - writer - actress Pelin Batu: "A rapist is called a rapist. Full stop. What do you protect? Ezgi Mola is not alone."

Mola: Love will save us

Amid these messages of solidarity and support, Ezgi Mola has made a brief statement on social media. "It is so nice to feel that I am not alone, my dearest ones," she has said, adding, "I would like to thank you all very much. I love you and I know that love will save us."

Yalnız olmadığımı böylesine hissetmek çok güzel canlar. Hepinize çok teşekkür ederim , sizleri çok seviyorum ve biliyorum ki bizleri sevgi kurtaracak

— ezgi mola (@ezgimola) June 3, 2021

(EMK/SD)