- A lawsuit was filed against Iris Mozalar on the charge of “insulting the President,” citing a slogan chanted at the March 8 Feminist Night March. Mozalar said she did not chant the slogan in question, which begins with “jump, jump.”
- This case is also an example of the increase reflected in the data announced by the Ministry of Justice. According to ministry data, the number of files under Turkish Penal Code Articles 299 and 301 has increased. The number, which was 27,000 in 2017, reached 82,992 by the end of 2025.
Semra Pelek
İstanbul - A case has been filed against trans activist Iris Mozalar on the charge of “insulting the President,” based on a slogan she is alleged to have chanted at the Feminist Night March on March 8.
In the indictment, it was argued that the Feminist Night March held in Beyoğlu on March 8, International Women’s Day in 2025, had been banned by the district governor’s office, but took place despite the ban. It was alleged that Mozalar chanted the slogan “Jump, jump, those who do not jump are Tayyip” during this march, and this claim was made the basis of the case.
The prosecution argued that these words “as a whole constitute the crime of insulting the President.” In the indictment, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was listed as the “victim” of the case.
Mozalar did not accept the accusation
In her statement, Mozalar did not accept the accusation. She said that many slogans were chanted at the time she was detained, that she may have accompanied some of them, but that she does not remember which slogans she chanted.
Within the scope of the investigation, a judicial control decision was issued against Mozalar; a ban on leaving the country and a signature obligation were imposed.
The prosecution is requesting that Mozalar be punished, arguing that her words exceeded the limits of freedom of expression.
The case filed against Mozalar was heard today at the Istanbul 76th Criminal Court of First Instance. The hearing, which Mozalar did not attend, was adjourned to June 15 at 9:50 a.m. for the completion of deficiencies in the file.
Mozalar was one of 112 people detained in 2025. However, only Mozalar was charged with violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations (Law No. 2911) and with the crime of “insulting the President” regulated in Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. The files were later separated and sent to different courts.
Increase in TCK 299 files
According to data published by the Ministry of Justice at the beginning of April, there has been a notable increase in the number of files under Articles 299 and 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which define “crimes against the signs of the sovereignty of the state and the dignity of its organs.”
The number of files, which was 27,000 in 2017, rose to 82,992 by the end of 2025. In 2025 alone, 28,105 new files were opened in prosecutor’s offices.
In 2025 alone, 28,105 new files were opened under TCK 299 and TCK 301 in chief public prosecutor’s offices. The number of files opened in criminal courts was 9,348.
The total number of files opened under Articles 299 and 301 in chief public prosecutor’s offices and criminal courts, together with those carried over from the previous year, reached 82,992 by the end of 2025.
Experts and rights organizations point out that such cases filed due to statements and actions that should be evaluated within the scope of freedom of expression are effective in this increase.
