‘Newroz’ lawsuit against journalist Melis Alphan
* Photo: Vimeo
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
A lawsuit has been filed against journalist Melis Alphan on the grounds that she posted a photo from the Newroz celebrations in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır in 2015.
The journalist is now charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" because "the flag of the organization was seen in the picture." Alphan faces up to 7 years, 6 months in prison on the offense charged.
As the indictment of the prosecutor's office has been accepted by the court, Alphan will stand trial at the İstanbul 32nd Heavy Penal Court.
Noting that the lawsuits filed against journalists are an attempt to silence them, Melis Alphan has tweeted:
"The aim is to silence. But when I am told to stay silent, I cannot help speaking out of spite, this is who I am. Do you think I would care even if you imprisoned me? May whoever fears you be just like you."
Hakkımdaki deli saçması soruşturma sonucunda dava açılmış.
— melis alphan ♀ (@melisalphan) January 13, 2021
6 yıl önce paylaştığım Nevruz fotoğrafı nedeniyle İst 32. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi'nde terör propagandası yapmak suçundan yargılanacağım.
Amaç susturmak. Ama benim de "Sus" deyince inadına konuşasım geliyor, huyum kurusun https://t.co/5ZpqUkFfI7
An investigation was filed against the journalist over this social media post in November 2020 and Alphan gave her statement at the prosecutor's office in İstanbul as part of this investigation.
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What is Newroz? Newroz refers to the celebration of the traditional Iranian peoples' New Year holiday of Nowruz in Kurdish culture. Before the Islamization of the Iranic peoples in Asia, the ancestors of the modern Kurds followed Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrian doctrine, fire is a symbol of sight, goodness and purification. Angra Mainyu, the demonic antithesis of Zoroastrianism, was defied by Zoroastrians with a big fire every year, which symbolized their defiance of and hatred for evil and the archdemon. Newroz is mainly, in the modern age, affiliated with Kurds, who in turn make up the majority of the Alevi population, an Islamized version of the Zoroastrian religion. In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the deliverance of the Kurds from a tyrant, and it is seen as another way of demonstrating support for the Kurdish cause. The celebration coincides with the March equinox which usually falls on 21 March and is usually held between 18 and 24 March. The festival has an important place in terms of Kurdish identity for the majority of Kurds, mostly in Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Though celebrations vary, people generally gather together to welcome the coming of spring; they wear coloured clothes and dance together. *Source: Wikipedia |
(HA/SD)