Değer is facing charges of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility or humiliation". Her social media posts - including statements such as "I am Kurd too" and "Kurds are being massacred in Konya" - are being used as evidence against her.
This statement was originally published on bianet.org on 2 September 2021.
An investigation has been launched against JinNews reporter Öznur Değer over the news that she shared about the massacre of 7 Kurdish citizens from the Dedeoğulları family in Konya’s Meram.
The Kızıltepe Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation against journalist Öznur Değer, a reporter for JinNews, on charges of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility or humiliation.”
Giving her statement as part of the investigation yesterday (September 1), Öznur Değer was asked questions about her digital media posts regarding the Dedeoğulları family, whose 7 members, including 4 women, were massacred in Konya’s Meram on July 30, 2021. The news reports shared by Değer were also cited as criminal evidence against the journalist.
In her statement at the prosecutor’s office, Öznur Değer said that the news that she shared on her social media account was reported by the news agency where she works. Indicating that the posts are within freedom of expression, Değer rejected the offense charged.
‘I am a Kurd’ post cited as criminal evidence
Some of the digital media posts brought against journalist Öznur Değer as criminal evidence are as follows:
“I am Kurd, too”, “Not hostility, but ‘racist attack’, not ‘killing’, but massacring”, “Kurds are being massacred in Konya”, “Kurds are held accountable for the forest fires. Kurds are targeted for all unfortunate events in the country, but no one comes up and says, ‘In the country, Kurds are massacred by fascist Turks because they are Kurds.’ We are both greatly saddened and enraged”, “Kurds and the reality of racist attack: The state is with the perpetrators”, “Racist attack against Kurdish women and children in Elmadağ”, “How far with this racism?”
