Journalist put on trial for sharing his photo of civilians from Kobanê border

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Burhan Ekinci, a Germany-based journalist and writer from Turkey, has been facing a lawsuit on charge of "terror propaganda" because he tweeted remarks of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and his photo of civilians from the Kobanê border.

Citing these social media posts as "criminal evidence", the indictment lodged by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has demanded that Burhan Ekinci be penalized as per the Article 7/1 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).

In the first of these social media messages, Ekinci tweeted the remarks of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who said, according to his attorneys, "I say that I will eliminate the state and possibility of conflict within a week, I will solve it, I am ready for solution..."

In addition to these remarks dated July 8, 2019, journalist Ekinci is also facing charges for sharing a photo that he took himself in 2014. That picture shows the civilians on the Kobanê border during the resistance of Kurdish forces against ISIS in October 2014.

According to the prosecutor who indicted Ekinci, in addition to this picture, he also committed a crime by attaching the following note to the photo:

"The historic Kobanê resistance. It has not been forgotten and it will not be... Everyone saw, everyone witnessed the resistance of those beautiful-hearted young people. One of the photos I took on the border. #November1WorldKobanêDay."

The indictment has indicated that "with these posts, Ekinci praised and legitimized the PKK/YPG armed terrorist organization."

While a warrant has been issued against Ekinci, his trial will begin at the İstanbul 30th Heavy Penal Court.

'They want to silence, intimidate us'

Commenting on the lawsuit, journalist-writer Burhan Ekinci has said that the trial is a consequence of the intolerance shown to freedom of thought and expression in Turkey. Recalling that another lawsuit was filed against him over his news from 2010s, Ekinci has briefly said:

With the lawsuits they file against us, they want to silence and intimidate us, they want to turn us into people who obey the [Presidential] Palace and play ostrich. There are several people who pen for the Palace, but we will not play ostrich for the Palace. We will keep on writing the truth. We will keep doing journalism under any circumstances and in every place. None of my posts is a crime. However, as the current regime does not like them, they regard them as crimes. If what I write is a crime according to the prosecutor and the judiciary of Turkey, I will keep tiring them and writing the truth.

CLICK - 'Domestic and national' journalism by force of prison, censorship, seizure!

(HA/SD)