Documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin awarded damages after unjust imprisonment

The government has been ordered to pay 25,000 liras in non-pecuniary damages to Sibel Tekin, a director, journalist, and academic, who was wrongfully detained and imprisoned for 44 days while filming a documentary. 

Tekin was accused of espionage-related activities during the filming of “Karanlıkta Başlayan Hayat,” (Life Starting in the Dark) a documentary exploring the impacts of Turkey's permanent daylight saving time. 

The incident began on December 15, 2022, when Tekin was filming people heading to work in the dark in Ankara’s Tuzluçayır neighborhood. Her footage reportedly included images of a police checkpoint and a prison officers' transport vehicle, leading to an anonymous tip-off. Tekin was detained during a raid on her home and subsequently arrested. 

'Unnamed terrorist organizations'

Following her arrest, Tekin faced charges of being associated with unnamed ‘terrorist organizations,’ with the prosecution requesting she be sentenced for "membership in an armed terrorist organization." Despite these accusations, the indictment did not specify the group she was allegedly affiliated with. 

The prosecutor also questioned the professionalism of Tekin’s footage, claiming it was inconsistent with that of a professional documentarian, noting that the video was shot in the dark and that buildings and vehicles were not clearly visible.

After spending 44 days in custody, Tekin was released from Sincan Prison on January 30, 2023. She was acquitted of all charges on March 5, 2023, by the Ankara 26th Heavy Penal Court. 

Tekin’s lawyers, Mehtap Sakinci and Hümeyra Taşkıran, filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for her wrongful arrest and detention. They initially demanded 10,000 liras in material damages and 250,000 liras in non-pecuniary damages. They argued that the experience had caused significant distress to Tekin and her family, undermining the principle of the presumption of innocence.

The Ankara 25th Heavy Penal Court dismissed the claim for material damages but awarded 25,000 liras for non-pecuniary damages. The court recognized the psychological impact of Tekin's detention from December 16, 2022, to January 30, 2023.(HA/VK)