A court in İzmir formally arrested a 16-year-old on charges of "spreading terrorist propaganda" following a social media post featuring a hair braiding video. The child was sent to Şakran Children's Prison after appearing before a court.
The arrest is linked to a widespread social media protest where women braided their hair, referred to as kezî in Kurdish, in response to the desecration of a Kurdish woman fighter's body by forces affiliated with the Damascus interim government.
A man identifying as a member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) shared a video on Jan 21 showing him cutting the hair braid of a member of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in Raqqa, which the Damascus forces took over from the Kurdish groups. Since then thousands of women globally have shared videos of themselves braiding their hair to protest the incident, including senior politicians.
Desecration of Kurdish woman fighter's body sparks hair braiding campaign on social media
Lawyer Edhem Kuruş told Mezopotamya Agency (MA) that the child's detention has serious implications for the right to education and the principle of protecting children.
"Depriving a student of their liberty due to social media posts is a severe and disproportionate legal intervention," Kuruş said.
He added that the best interests of the child should be prioritized and that "arrest should be a last resort." Kuruş described the situation as "concerning for the principles of freedom of expression and the rule of law."
Nurse detained over hair braiding protest for killed Kurdish woman fighter
Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP Gülistan Kılıç-Koçyiğit also criticized the arrest on social media. "We are faced with a mentality that is afraid of children and uses laws against them; an understanding that ignores violence against women while targeting everyone who objects," she stated. (NÖ/VK)
