Turkey: Street interview arrest encourages self-censorship

Vox pops are very popular in Turkey. However, it is a society in which opinions cannot always be expressed freely and many people are reluctant to speak out publicly.

Dilruba K., however, didn't mince her words. Interviewed on the street by a YouTube channel in Izmir last week, she not only criticized the blocking of Instagram by the Turkish government, but also the official day of mourning for the former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which was decreed around the same time.

"In the 21st century, handing the Republic of Turkey to one man means he'll treat it like his father's farm," she said. Her criticism of those who agreed with the ban was also provocative: "You're stupid, because you hand over your liberal rights to a single person and see them as being above God himself." And she criticized the official day of mourning with the comment: "Why should I feel grief because some Arab has died? I'm just not interested."

'Inciting hatred' and 'insulting the president'

This was considered sufficient grounds to have her arrested last week on charges of inciting hatred among the people and insulting the president. She was acquitted of the second charge on August 20, but remains in custody on the first charge, and is due to appear in court on September 3.

The indictment was prepared unusually quickly. In her defense, the young woman said: "I did not attack any state institution or individual in my interview. I did not mean the president or any other individual." She also apologized "if it came out wrong."

Veysel Ok is a lawyer who has represented many journalists, including Die Welt correspondent Deniz Yücel, who was imprisoned in Turkey for several months in 2017 and 2018 on charges of producing "terrorist propaganda."

Ok emphasizes that the detention of Dilruba K. is unlawful. "Someone might not like what a person says, but everything must be considered within the framework of freedom of expression. There is no legal basis to any of the legal steps taken so far," says Ok.

This opinion is shared by a prominent member of the ruling AKP party, Mücahit Birinci. "I condemn what this woman said. I am even angry because she said these things. But as a jurist, I must say there is no room for debate. An arrest is not right," he said. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Birinci commented that one must also be fair to the person toward whom one feels anger.

Self-protection instead of rule of law

Critics say this decision is about the survival of the ruling elite. "Government-affiliated criminals are rewarded with acquittals, while those who express critical opinions are punished. This shows that the Turkish legal system is no longer a legal system, but an absolute protection mechanism for the actions and statements of the government," says Ok.

Political scientist Berk Esen from Sabanci University agrees. "The Turkish state used to have a few red lines, like Islamism or the Armenian genocide," he says. "Apart from that, you could criticize anyone and anything, including the ruling party, the president, the prime minister. Today, there are no red lines as there were in the past. The only red line is that the ruling elite looks after itself. Nowadays, the government sets the boundaries of freedom of expression. It restricts any opinion that it thinks could threaten its existence."

The objective is intimidation

Observers say the government's actions are intimidating millions of people. "They're trying to silence the voice of the people with this arrest. The message is being conveyed to the people that they'd better keep quiet," says Hüseyin Yildiz, the lawyer representing Dilruba K.

The political scientist Esen suspects that the arrest could have a deterrent effect in the future. "Many people who previously expressed their opinions freely on the street will now censor themselves. What the government is doing is not just arresting one person, but restricting everyone," he says.

According to Ok, the government will continue to try to suppress critical voices. "The government wants to quickly silence any complaints from the street," says Ok. He believes the country is seeing the start of a new wave of restrictions on freedom of expression: "Dilruba K. is not the first or the last. She is one of the many people who are in prison in Turkey today because they freely expressed their opinion. This was just the beginning. We will see many more cases like this in future, of someone being arrested after a street interview."

This article was originally written in German.