Writer Yavuz Ekinci sentenced to prison over Newroz, Kobanî posts

* Photo: Erkan Şenses / Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Standing trial over his social media posts from the years 2013 and 2014, writer Yavuz Ekinci has been sentenced to prison.

Writer Ekinci was on trial due to his social media messages about the Diyarbakır Newroz, an image in support of Kobanî and a joint statement of support for Kobanî that he signed along with other writers amid the 2014 battle between ISIS and Kurdish groups in the region.

Charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization", Ekinci had his final hearing at the İstanbul 34th High Criminal Court today (March 31).

At the third hearing today, the prosecutor of the trial repeated the previous opinion as to the accusations and reiterated the request for the writer's penalization. Ekinci, on the other hand, did not accept the offense charged. He said that he is a writer and briefly added the following:

"Over the past quarter of a century, hardly a day has passed without me reading or writing. I face charges and stand trial over my posts from nine years ago. To me, a writer does not have an opinion or ideology, but has conscience. In the face of the value that I attach to human life, I do not and did not stay silent. It is not possible to accept that the posts cited in the indictment and made by me within the scope of freedom of expression constitute propaganda. Who faces accusations and stands trial at this court today is not me, but freedom of thought and expression".

'This is a file of freedom of expression'

The lawyer of the writer, Can Ekinci, said that the prosecutor's final opinion as to the accusations was copy-pasted and their defense did not mean anything. "The posts are apparently not propagandizing in nature. This file is a file of freedom of expression," he added further.

Taking the floor afterwards, Batman Bar Association Chair and lawyer Erkan Şenses put an emphasis on freedom of expression.

Şenses stressed that in examining the file, the court should also consider the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Constitutional Court rulings, apart from the Anti-Terror Law (TMK), and added, "There is a problem with the cases of freedom of expression in Turkey. The time, place, way of expression and the ensuing effect of the expression are not discussed".

Şenses indicated that writer Ekinci did not propagandize for a terrorist organization and recalled that his client was put on trial after pro-government Akit newspaper had marked him as a target. He said, "In the ECtHR rulings, it is said that no crime is constituted if there is no incitement to hate or violence" and requested that the court take these points into consideration.

Sentence deferred

Handing down its ruling after the recess, the court board ruled that Yavuz Ekinci should be sentenced to 1 year, 6 months, 22 days in prison. Considering that Ekinci "may not commit the same crime again", the court board has deferred the prison sentence. (HA/SD)