Osman Öcalan's appearance on TRT Kurdi deemed 'freedom of expression'
The appearance of Osman Öcalan, brother of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, on TRT on June 23, 2019, has been evaluated within the scope of 'freedom of expression'.
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Osman Öcalan, who is subject to an Interpol red notice, was featured on TRT before the Istanbul elections on June 23, 2019, and days before the election, Anadolu Agency published a letter from Öcalan.
HIS APPEARANCE ON TRT KURDI HAD SPARKED MAJOR BACKLASH
According to Halk TV's report, following the events that sparked major backlash, complaints were filed against the two institutions. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office closed the complaints by defining the actions as 'freedom of expression'.
Ekrem İmamoğlu had won the March 31, 2019, local elections as the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), but the Supreme Election Council (YSK) decided to repeat the elections, alleging that there were 'irregularities'.
Before the elections to be repeated on June 23, 2019, the appearance of Osman Öcalan, brother of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, on TRT Kurdi had sparked a major backlash.
While the opposition objected to Öcalan—who is subject to a red notice and an arrest warrant—making statements on the public broadcaster TRT, labeling it "terrorist propaganda," the publication of Öcalan's letter by Anadolu Agency to the public following Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Kemal Özcan's visit to İmralı three days before the elections also created a stir.
While Öcalan's statements, which called for the Kurdish people not to take sides in the local elections and not to vote for Ekrem İmamoğlu, became the target of criticism by the opposition as "the government turning a blind eye to terror propaganda to win the election," the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ruled on the complaints filed against TRT and Anadolu Agency today.
"ÖCALAN HAS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION"
The Prosecutor's Office emphasized that there was no ground for an investigation regarding the complaint, stating that Osman Öcalan's appearance on TRT and the publication of Abdullah Öcalan's letter by AA remained within the framework of the Öcalans' freedom of expression and the press's freedom to inform, and declared that the actions of AA and TRT constituted freedom of the press.