Put on trial over ‘Kurdistan’ post, academic Kutum acquitted
* Photo: Screenshot from a video
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The high criminal court has handed down its ruling in the trial of academic Hifzullah Kutum, who faced a lawsuit for writing on social media, "Şoreşa Îlonê hemû Kurdan pîroz be, Bijî Kurdistan" (May the September Revolution be blessed for Kurds. Long Live Kurdistan).
Kutum, a research associate at the Finance Department of Elazığ Fırat University, had his third hearing at the Elazığ 2nd High Criminal Court yesterday (March 17). The prosecutor's office reiterated its previous opinion as to the accusations and demanded that the academic be penalized on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization".
Making defense as to the accusations, Kutum said that his social media posts and the posts that he liked were within "freedom of expression". Kutum briefly added, "When I say Kurdistan, I also say the name of a state. Because there is a state named Kurdistan. Also, the region densely populated by Kurds has been called Kurdistan throughout history."
Explaining that "the suffix -istan is used for the regions or countries densely populated by a nation", the academic cited the examples of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan among others.
Referring to his post with a picture referred to as the "organization flag", Kutum said that he had shared the picture by considering the official flag of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government in the middle. He noted that "in none of the tweets posted, retweeted or liked by him was there a single sentence legitimizing or praising the violent methods of the organization".
Pronouncing its ruling after the lawyers' defense, the court board ruled that academic Hifzullah Kutum should be acquitted of the offense charged as the elements of the offense had not arisen. The court also ruled that the judicial control measures on the academic should be lifted.
What happened?
Hifzullah Kutum, a research associate at the Finance Department of Elazığ Fırat University in eastern Turkey, was given a warning on November 3, 2021 as part of the investigation launched against him for writing on social media, "Şoreşa Îlonê hemû Kurdan pîroz be, Bijî Kurdistan" (May the September Revolution be blessed for Kurds. Long Live Kurdistan).
The objection of Kutum to this penalty was rejected by Acting Dean Dr. Kenan Peker and Kutum was dismissed on November 5.
On the same day, a flag of Turkey was hung on the door of his office at the university and he was taken into custody upon the tip-off and criminal complaint filed against him over his "Kurdistan" post. Amid public outrage and lawyers' appeal, he was released on November 10. (RT/SD)