Up to 7.5 years in prison sought for waiter in military uniform, restaurant manager, and owner

The investigation into footage that appeared on social media on April 16, 2024, showing a foreign national serving customers at a restaurant in Beyoğlu while wearing a military uniform, has been completed.

The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that an investigation was launched after it was seen in a social media video that a person wearing a military uniform was serving tables at a business. It was determined that the restaurant's manager was Abdulkadir Güler, the owner was Adnan Kalkmaz, and the person serving in the military uniform was Syrian national Yousuf Jaafer.

The indictment stated that the video published by the suspects had the nature of damaging the honor and dignity of the state's military organization, that the content of the video could not be legally protected under the context of freedom of thought, and that it did not contribute to the development of society but was aimed at publicly humiliating the state's military organization.

The indictment noted that the video contained actions aimed at displaying provocative attitudes and behaviors, and that these actions were of a nature to incite one segment of the public to hatred and hostility against another, or to cause discrimination. It was recorded that after the video was published on social media and in press outlets, it was shared many times by numerous accounts and groups with comments, creating a media agenda, and furthermore, it created an effect that would cause concern among those provoked, resulting in a clear and imminent danger to public safety.

"I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS A TURKISH MILITARY UNIFORM"

In the indictment, which includes the statement of suspect Yousuf Jaafer, it was learned that the suspect said, "I entered Turkey from Syria through legal means in the summer of 2017. After coming to Turkey, I first started working in restaurants in the Bakırköy district of Istanbul, and later in the Beylikdüzü district. Then, in the summer of 2022, I started shooting videos and earning income through social media. When I went to the restaurant in question, two foreign nationals who were customers there and said they came from Dubai brought me the military uniform they had bought in Eminönü and offered me to shoot a video. I accepted this offer, thinking that a video with a military uniform would get more views. The two people at the table where I was serving meat in the video are the two people I did not know who brought me the military uniform and offered me the video. There was no flag or writing on the uniform I wore; I did not know it was a Turkish military uniform. I am very sorry. My purpose in shooting the video was definitely not to humiliate the Turkish military organization."

The indictment also stated that suspect Jaafer had shot the video by wearing clothes specific to the military profession in a way that would mislead others and later deleted the video he had published from his account. It was also noted that the defenses of restaurant manager suspect Abdulkadir Güler and restaurant owner suspect Adnan Kalkmaz, claiming that the video was shot and remained online without their knowledge, would not be credited, given their authority and positions at the business.

REQUEST FOR UP TO 7 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS IN PRISON

The prepared indictment requests that the suspects Abdulkadir Güler, Adnan Kalkmaz, and Yousuf Jaafer be sentenced to a total of 2 years and 3 months to 7 years and 6 months in prison each for the charges of 'publicly humiliating the state's military or security organization', 'unauthorized use of special signs and uniforms', and 'publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility or humiliating them'.

The trial of the suspects will begin in the coming days at the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance.