Human rights advocate Eren Keskin gives statement to police over reply to her tweet

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Eren Keskin, a lawyer and the co-chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD), was summoned by the Anti-Terror Department of the İstanbul Security Directorate over the phone.

When she asked why she needed to give a statement, the officer on the phone replied, "You will get information when you come to the directorate."

She went to the İstanbul Security Directorate on Tuesday (September 13).

She encountered the first "surprise" at the Anti-Terror Department when the officer there directly asked her, "What organization are you from?" implying an illegal organization.

She replied that she wasn't a member of any "organization" but a human rights advocate and came there in the name of the İHD. After being kept waiting for a while, she met the relevant officer.

"I experienced the real surprise there. Because they wanted to take my statement because of a tweet that I didn't post," she said.

"Assassination claims"

In August 2020, Keskin tweeted about Musa Orhan, a specialist sergeant who was later convicted of "qualified sexual assault."

"Many years before Musa Orhan, there was Musa Çitil. He was a commander in Mardin in the 1990s. He stood trial without arrest for sexually assaulting Ş.E., he was acquitted. Years later, he was a commander in Sur, Diyarbakır," she had written.

A Twitter user named "Sabya Altinsay," whom Keskin doesn't know, replied to the tweet, writing, "So, he is still alive" with a bomb emoji.

A citizen from Aydın filed a complaint with the Presidency Communications Center (CİMER), claiming that the tweet "implied the assassination of Musa Çitil."

"I advocate nonviolence"

In her statement, Keskin said she had no intention of assassinating Çitil.

"It was a very ironic situation showing the point freedom of expression has come in Türkiye. Musa Orhan was on trial fr sexually assaulting İpek Er, and in my own tweet, I wanted to remind that this incident was nothing new and similar things were done in the past as well.

"Someone replied to me with an explosive. Is that possible? I'm someone who has advocated nonviolent struggle for years, how can I call for an assassination?

"I'm really amazed at what's going on. This the point Türkiye has reached in terms of freedom of thought and expression. I gave a statement because of someone who replied my tweet. Unbelievable."

CLICK - Eren Keskin gives statement to police about tweets from five years ago 

CLICK - Eren Keskin sentenced to 7.5 years in prison 

* Keskin has received a total of 17 years of prison sentence in several cases, which are currently examined by the Court of Cassation, the top appeals court.

(EMK/VK)