Defendants: Melis Alphan

Media Outlet and Position: Freelance journalist

Accusations: Spreading terrorist propaganda

Possible sentence: up to 7,5 years

Court: İstanbul 32. High Criminal Court

Case Background:

Melis Alphan, a former columnist for outlets Hürriyet, Milliyet and Artı Gerçek, is accussed of “spreading terrorist propaganda” over a photo from 2015 Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır she posted on social media. Newroz is a celebration of the arrival of the spring and new year in Kurdish culture.

The indictment cited the re-posted photo as criminal evidence where the flags of the outlawed PKK and posters of Abdullah Öcalan, the founding leader of the outlawed organization, were visible and claimed that the social media post was with the intention of support to the terrorist organization and legitimizing its methods. Therefore the prosecutor requested a prison sentence for Alphan up to seven and a half year for “spreading propaganda of a terrorist organization via the press”.

In a recent interview in IPI’s Freedom Dialogues podcast series, Alphan said that the disputed photo was taken from an official Newroz celebration in Diyarbakır during the official peace process with the Kurdish parties continued, therefore the post cannot constitute the alleged crime.

Listen to the podcast episode in Turkish here.

The first hearing of the case will take place on April 6, 2021.