Journalist Semra Çelebi acquitted of ‘insulting Turkish flag’

Journalist Semra Çelebi has been acquitted of the charge of "openly disrespecting the state's sovereignty" due to a tweet about the 2020 Pride March.

According to a report on the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) website, during the third hearing of the case held at the İstanbul Anatolian 10th Penal Court, Attorney Fatih Aydın, representing Çelebi on behalf of MLSA, explained that the complainant, Aydoğan Ahıakın, who had led to the case being opened, did not have the status of a complainant.

Back in June 2020, following a tweet made by Semra Çelebi with a photo from the 2014 Pride March, Aydoğan Ahıakın, who was the AKP District Chair of Kadıköy at the time, accused Çelebi of "insult," "incitement to hatred or hostility towards the public," "openly disrespecting the state's military and law enforcement organization," "hate and discrimination crime," "crimes committed against the Turkish Flag Law," among other charges. According to MLSA's report, Ahıakın, who is also a lawyer, attached his AKP membership card to the complaint letter.

The prosecution had issued a non-prosecution decision, stating that "there is no sufficient evidence that the writing referred to the Turkish flag." Subsequently, Ahıakın claimed that he should be recognized as a "complainant" since he was a "victim" who had suffered harm due to Çelebi's tweet and filed an objection on October 21, 2020, arguing that the non-prosecution decision was "contrary to the procedural rules and the law," even though he was not informed about it.

In response to his objection, the Istanbul Anatolian 8th Peace Criminal Court found it justified, lifted the non-prosecution decision, and initiated the lawsuit.

While ruling for the trial, the Istanbul Anatolian 8th Peace Criminal Court mentioned the expression "Let’s say faggots are the ones who make flags flags!" from Çelebi's post, emphasizing that this expression was referring to Mithat Cemal Kuntay's poem "On the 15th Anniversary." The judge had decided that Çelebi should be tried based on the belief that "The poet wrote the poem for the Turkish flag and the martyrs [...] Therefore, the poem cannot be used for sections that the poet did not intend."

Lawyer Aydın argued that the term “ibne,” Turkish for “faggot," in Çelebi's tweet did not contain an insulting intention against anyone.

"Nobody is obliged to know this poem by heart or to respect it," Aydın stated.

Aydın emphasized that Çelebi made the sharing in support of LGBTI+ individuals on the Pride March day: "LGBTI+ individuals are a part of the 81 million citizens of this country. The flag is also their flag. The phrase 'The ones who make flags flags, even if they are f*ggots!' is not an insult," he said.

Aydın firmly asserted that his client never used the term "faggot" as an insult, and "Therefore, there is no [disrespect] towards the flag." He requested Çelebi's acquittal, explaining that the elements of the crime of "openly disrespecting the state's sovereignty" were not present.

Despite the prosecutor reiterating their opinion on the essence of the case, the court ruled for Semra Çelebi's acquittal, stating that "the elements of the crime were not present." (AEK/VK)