Eylem Sonbahar
Turkish journalist Zeynep Kuray was acquitted of charges of "terrorist propaganda" over her social media posts spanning from 2014 to 2023, following a third hearing held at the 26th High Criminal Court in Istanbul.
The case centered on Kuray's online posts, which prosecutors argued legitimized or encouraged violent methods allegedly used by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. The prosecutor had requested that Kuray be convicted on these charges.
Kuray, who did not attend the hearing, was represented by Batıkan Erkoç, an attorney from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA). In his defense statement, Erkoç emphasized that Kuray’s posts fell within the bounds of journalism, particularly in the context of human rights demonstrations, the peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK, and women's rights.
“All of my client’s posts are protected under the right to inform the public,” Erkoç said. He argued that the indictment failed to recognize Kuray's identity as a journalist. He also pointed out that, in 2019, Turkey amended its laws under recommendations from the European Court of Human Rights to clarify that expressions aimed at informing the public should not be criminalized under anti-terror legislation. “This amendment appears to have been ignored in the indictment,” he added.
Erkoç also noted that some of the posts in question were made during the so-called “solution process” between 2013 and 2015—a period when the Turkish government and the PKK were engaged in peace talks and armed conflict had largely subsided. Referring to a previous Constitutional Court ruling involving former parliamentarian Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Erkoç reminded the court that political and social conditions at that time differed significantly from the present.
“Even without considering that she is a journalist, there is no incitement to violence in the posts. Therefore, the crime of terrorist propaganda does not exist here,” he concluded.
Following a short recess after the defense statement, the court ruled that the actions in question did not constitute a criminal offense under Turkish law and acquitted Zeynep Kuray.
