DEM Party files criminal complaint over insults directed at Leyla Zana

The DEM Party Law and Human Rights Commission, on behalf of Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, has filed a criminal complaint regarding the insults directed at Leyla Zana by Bursaspor fan groups. The complaint covers the stand leaders who organized these chants, Bursaspor Club executives, Ankaragücü fan groups and their organizers, the referees and technical staff on duty at the match, as well as TFF representatives and observers.

The criminal complaint states that the chants directed at Leyla Zana are an example of the spread of misogynistic rhetoric in the field of football in Turkey. It is emphasized that due to the visibility of football, such rhetoric reproduces gender inequality. It is stated that making insults against women visible in football and leaving them unpunished fuels gender inequality and indirectly legitimizes violence against women.

The complaint asserts that the actions of the suspects are an attempt to disrupt social peace and incite one segment of the public against another. It is stated that these acts, organized in a public space such as a stadium, serve the purpose of normalizing discriminatory and hate-based language against women and Kurds. Therefore, the incident is evaluated not only as a violation of individual dignity but also as an open attack on the principle of social equality and the will to live together.

Stating that crimes such as insult, misconduct in office, hate, and discrimination have been committed, the party requests that the prosecutor's office prepare an indictment against the suspects who committed these crimes.