Alleged terror organization propaganda: Prison sentence requested for Evren Barış Yavuz

An indictment has been prepared seeking up to 16 years and 1 month in prison for Evren Barış Yavuz, who was arrested in Istanbul due to an article titled "Why Alevis should have had a PKK" on a website and a social media post stating "They sold jet fuel."

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Lütfü Haluk Bayraktar, Selçuk Bayraktar, and Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi were included as "complainants."

The indictment notes that an ex officio investigation was launched into Yavuz, who was found to have made a social media post on April 9 targeting the complainants with the phrase "They sold jet fuel," and who also published an article titled "Why Should Alevis Have Had a PKK?" on a website on February 13.

It was stated that a complaint petition was submitted to the prosecutor's office on April 15 by the complainants' lawyers, alleging that Yavuz disseminated misleading information regarding the complainants, who produce unmanned aerial vehicles for Turkey.

According to the report dated May 9 prepared by the Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch, the indictment stated that investigations had previously been conducted into Yavuz for crimes such as "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "inciting the public to hatred and hostility or insulting them," and that information had been obtained regarding Yavuz's participation in marches organized by the PKK terrorist organization while he was a student at Dokuz Eylül University.

TRIED FOR PKK PROPAGANDA

According to UYAP records, the indictment also included information that Yavuz was sentenced to 1 year, 6 months, and 22 days in prison for "making propaganda for the PKK armed terrorist organization" due to his social media posts in 2018, but that this suspended sentence has not yet become final.

The indictment noted that in his article titled "Why Should Alevis Have Had a PKK?", Evren Barış Yavuz legitimized armed struggle against the state and cited the PKK armed terrorist organization as an example for this.

It was stated that Yavuz engaged in propaganda in a way that would legitimize or praise the methods of the PKK terrorist organization involving force, violence, or threats, or encourage the resort to such methods.

'CAPABLE OF DISRUPTING PUBLIC PEACE'

The indictment noted that Yavuz shared a photo of Selçuk Bayraktar and Lütfü Haluk Bayraktar taken at a rally held in support of the Palestinian people, in which they appeared in the same frame, with the note "They sold jet fuel."

The indictment, which stated that Yavuz's action concerned Turkey's internal and external security and public order, noted that this post caused debates in the public sphere, and therefore, the post in question was evaluated as being capable of disrupting public peace.

CLAIMED HE MADE A COMMUNICATION ERROR

The indictment explained that the post, which was stated to have intentionally caused a perception that the complainants supported Israel's massacres, was also a concrete act capable of offending the honor, dignity, and reputation of the complainants.

In his statement, Yavuz claimed that the article titled "Why Should Alevis Have Had a PKK?" was not written by him, but by Ali Tektaş in 2013 on a website called www.fraksiyon.org, and that an administrator panel was opened in his name on this site at that time, and he was only a page editor.

It was reported that Yavuz claimed he left the site in 2015 and the site closed in 2016, which is why Ali Tektaş's name and photo information were deleted, but he continued to appear as an administrator on the site, and that after the site closed in 2017, the article was published on the site "alevienstitusu.blogspot.com" as if it were an article with his name on it.

Regarding his post targeting the Bayraktar family, the indictment stated that Yavuz said he used the widely shared photo representing the rally to express inconsistency after learning that exports to Israel continued despite calls to boycott Israeli goods at the Palestine support rally held on January 1.

Stating that he made the post of his own free will, it was reported that Yavuz argued he did not intend to imply that the Bayraktar family or the Baykar company traded with Israel, and that he had made a communication error.

DEFENSE AIMED AT EVADING PUNISHMENT

The indictment stated that considering Yavuz explicitly wrote "They sold jet fuel" in his post and used a photo belonging to the complainants, his defense was aimed at evading punishment.

It was requested that Evren Barış Yavuz be sentenced to between 3 years and 4 months and 16 years and 1 month in prison for the crimes of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization," "publicly insulting in a chain manner," and "publicly disseminating misleading information to the public."

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office sent the indictment to the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court.