Journalist faces prison sentence for sharing an article about a senior military officer

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A lawsuit has been filed against a journalist for sharing a news article on social media after a complaint by Gendarmerie Deputy General Commander Lieutenant General Musa Çitil. 

The article in question was an interview with Human Rights Association (İHD) Chair Eren Keskin about a specialist sergeant who raped a woman and drove her to suicide in the eastern Batman province last year.

Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Ahmet Kanbal shared the part of the interview about the commander on his social media account. Çitil alleged that Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Ahmet Kanbal "marked him as a target" by sharing that post.

Following the complaint, the Aydın Chief Public Prosecutor's Office indicted Kanbal for "marking government officials involved in the fight against terrorism as a target" and "insult."

There are also separate investigations against the İHD's Keskin and Yağmur Kaya, the journalist who interviewed her, according to the indictment. Neither of them has been summoned to depose yet.

The Aydın 3rd Heavy Penal Court accepted the indictment against Kanbal, who is now facing a prison sentence of one to three years. His trial will start in December.

Çitil had previously filed a lawsuit against journalists as well.

What happened?

It was revealed in July 2020 that specialist sergeant Musa O. had abducted and raped İ.E. for 20 days.

İ.E. attempted suicide, leaving a letter behind about what happened.

She lost her life on August 18, in the hospital where she had been treated since July 16.

After finding İ.E.'s letter, her family filed a complaint against Musa O, who was detained on the same day. Musa O. is currently on trial for "qualified sexual assault."

In the interview subject to the complaint, İHD Chair Keskin said the security forces used sexual abuse and violence as a policy of war. Saying that similar incidents happened in the past, he cited the case of Ş.E., who was sexually assaulted by security officers in the Kurdish-majority province of Mardin in 1993.

"... the family had moved abroad. They reached me, they were in a very bad situation. We received their application and filed a criminal complaint. A lawsuit was filed against Musa Çitil and the 405 soldiers under his command," Keskin said.

Quoting her words, journalist Kanbal wrote, "The place that Eren Keskin points should be looked at: Years before Musa O., there was Musa Çitil. He was a commander in Mardin in the 1990s. He was put on trial without an arrest for sexual assault against Ş.E. and he was acquitted. Years later, he was a commander in Sur, Diyarbakır." (HA/VK)