Imprisoned journalist Elif Akgül: 'The judicial stick must finally be removed from over the citizens'

Journalist Elif Akgül, who was sent to prison following an arrest warrant issued on February 21, wrote a piece for İlke TV. In her writing, Akgül stated, "What we need is not the normalization of being put on trial. It is time for the 'judicial stick,' which has become a common refrain, to be removed from over the citizens, and for that reason, we need to be able to ask, 'By what right are you putting us on trial?'" 

The full text of Akgül's writing is as follows: 

“We cannot speak of law and justice without rights.

Yet, this principle of legal predictability has been so far exceeded... Many people, including myself, are imprisoned for attending a congress 14 years ago or for carrying out professional activities. Tweets containing hate speech posted by Ümit Özdağ were only considered a 'crime' 9 years later. An astrologer was imprisoned due to the replies given to a tweet in which they shared their predictions. With the situation as it is, giving the message to citizens of the Republic of Turkey—who are treated as potential suspects—that unlawful trials are reasonable means becoming an actor in the production of the social consent sought in the current investigation.

However, the slogan 'rights, law, justice' begins with 'rights.' This right means the presumption of innocence. It means being able to work without facing the threat of prosecution, being able to participate in the administration of the district, province, or country one lives in, and being able to express one's thoughts and objections.

It is not possible to speak of law and justice, or to establish a fair system, without rights. What we need is not the normalization of being put on trial. It is time for the 'judicial stick,' which has become a common refrain, to be removed from over the citizens, and for that reason, we need to be able to ask, 'By what right are you putting us on trial?'"