ELİF AKGÜL

Istanbul - The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) has released its March 2022 Trial Monitoring Report. 276 people stood trial in March for using their right to freedom of speech and press; 130 of them were women activists and journalists advocating for the rights of women and LGBTI+, according to the report. 18 of 130 women were journalists. Most of the women stood trial for protesting Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.

“Vase case” on March 8

One of the hearings monitored by the MLSA was the hearing of seven women and an LGBTI+ person, including journalist Şehirban Alkış, held on March 8. Eight women were beaten and detained on July 7, 2020, while protesting Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in front of the building of the General Directorate of Family and Social Services in Istanbul. The women are charged with “breaches of Law 2911”, “resisting public officials to prevent them from carrying out a duty” and “damaging public property” for holding a banner reading, “Enough is enough, women demand a life security.” The case is known as the “Vase Case” in Turkey because women are accused of having broken a vase during the protest. The next hearing will be held on June 9.

“The figures show the oppression against the right to freedom of expression”

We spoke to Merve Kurhan, a lawyer in the Law Unit of the MLSA, about the report. “In the reports, we release at the end of each month on trials, we monitor that more and more citizens are prosecuted for using their right to freedom of expression, assemble and express their views through protest, which are guaranteed by the Turkish Constitution and the international conventions to which Turkey is a party,” Merve Kurhan told NuJINHA.

Highlighting that 276 people stood trial only in March for using their rights, Merve Kurhan noted that 130 of them were women activists and journalists advocating for the rights of women and LGBTI+. Among those who stood trial in March were women who protested Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, the students, who were taken into police custody in several protests against the appointment of a rector to the Boğaziçi University, and LGBTİ+ individuals, who were taken into police custody at the Pride Parade. These figures show the oppression against the right to freedom of expression in Turkey.”