US Department of State: Freedom of expression is universal

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Ned Price, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State, answered the questions of reporters at his press briefing yesterday (January 24).

He was also asked a question about musician Sezen Aksu, who was targeted by pro-government groups as well as President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over a song from five years ago, and journalist Sedef Kabaş, who has been arrested for "insulting the President" over her words on a TV program.

Price answered the question in reference to the principle of freedom of expression. The Spokesperson briefly said the following:

"...Well, this applies in Turkey but it is universal in its application as well, and that is the fact that we believe freedom of expression strengthens democracy and it needs to be protected even when it involves speech some may find controversial or some may find uncomfortable.

"We're aware of and we're disappointed by the attention and arrest of Sedef Kabaş, one of the cases you referenced, and those principles apply equally to Turkey as they do to any other country."

What happened? (Sezen Aksu)

Singer Sezen Aksu was targeted by pro-government people over her song "Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak" (Living is a wonderful thing) from the year 2017 for saying, "Say hello to the ignorant Adam and Eve..."

Applying to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a lawyer named Mikail Yılmaz and a group of people accompanying him filed a criminal complaint against Sezen Aksu on charge of "insulting religious values and provocation or degrading." A group of pro-government people also gathered in front of Aksu's house and staged a protest.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli also targeted Sezen Aksu in his weekly Parliamentary group meeting.

In a speech during the Friday prayers at İstanbul's Grand Çamlıca Mosque, President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also targeted Aksu, saying, "No one can defame his holiness, Adam. It is our duty, when the time comes, to rip out the tongues of those who defame him. No one can defame her holiness Eve."

Having remained silent until then, Aksu made a statement on Facebook on January 22. She thanked those who announced support for her and said, "As you know, the matter is not me, the matter is the country."

Aksu also shared the lyrics of a new song, which she said she wrote the day before. "You can't crush my tongue," she says in the song, apparently in response to Erdoğan's threats. In a short time, people on social media translated the lyrics into more than 30 languages.

What happened? (Sedef Kabaş)

Journalist Sedef Kabaş was arrested on January 22 for "insulting the President" because of her words during a live broadcast a week ago.

"There is a famous saying, 'A crowned head will get wiser.' But we see that this isn't the reality. There is also a saying that is the exact opposite: 'When cattle go into a palace, they don't become the king; the palace becomes a barn'," Kabaş said during a program on TELE1 TV on January 14.

A week later, she posted the second quote on her Twitter and Instagram accounts as a "Circassian proverb," replacing the word "cattle" with "ox."

Shortly after, at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, she was detained during a police raid. Hours later, a penal judgeship of peace remanded her in custody. (EMK/SD)