News Center- Mary Lawlor, Un Sğecial Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, tweeted on Wednesday about death threats against lawyer Jiyan Tosun, who was targeted by Adem Taşkaya, deputy leader of the Victory Party (Turkish: Zafer Partisi) on social media following the deadly explosion in Istanbul.

Mary Lawlor said in her tweet:

“Deepest sympathies to all those impacted by the horrific 13 Nov attack in #Türkiye. I’m v concerned by reports of death threats to WHRD #JiyanTosun & her family following totally false allegations of her involvement. Turkish officials should publicly correct the record to provide protection.”

What happened?

An explosion killed six people and injured 81 others in Istanbul’s heart Taksim on Sunday. After the explosion, police published the CCTV footage of a woman who was believed to be the main suspect of the incident. Then, Adem Taşkaya, deputy leader of the Victory Party, claimed in a tweet that the woman in the footage was lawyer Jiyan Tosun. After the woman in the footage was then identified as Ahlam Albashir, Adem Taşkaya deleted his tweet. Jiyan Tosun reported that she had been receiving threats from people and had been targeted on social media due to Adem Taşkaya’s tweet. She later filed a lawsuit against Adem Taşkaya. In addition, Human Rights Association (IHD) Chair Eren Keskin, who works with Jiyan Tosun at the same office, received death threats. Yesterday, Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ announced that a protection order has been issued to ensure the safety of Jiyan Tosun.