Dilruba’s lawyer speaks out: ‘We will not speak in order to prevent this process from being affected by AKP policies’

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Following the crisis between Instagram and the government, Turkey experienced an eight-day access ban on Instagram. Shortly after RTÜK Chairman Ebubekir Şahin stated that they were monitoring street interviews during the crisis, Dilruba K., who gave an interview to the YouTube channel 'Tüysüz Mikrofon', was arrested and sent to prison after her comments regarding the access ban.

In the interview she gave, Dilruba K. had stated: “I am not obligated to mourn just because some Arab died. If they weren't ashamed, they would make us hold the 40th-day memorial. Okay, we understand the country has been handed over to this, but he is using it like his father’s farm. What he is doing is a coup; shutting down social media is a coup, passing a law regarding animal slaughter is a coup; he is currently twisting it around his finger, this is very wrong.”

Dilruba K.’s lawyer, Hüseyin Yıldız, explained the legal process and Dilruba K.’s health status to 12punto.

Summarizing the latest situation, Lawyer Hüseyin Yıldız said, “We have an appeal process. We have filed our appeal. Frankly, we do not feel the need to make any statement until we appeal the arrest, in order to prevent this process from being affected by AKP policies.”

Lawyer Yıldız provided information regarding Dilruba K.’s detention process, stating, “We will hold a press conference with the participation of the entire family once we appeal the arrest and get a result.”

(Dilruba K.'s lawyer Hüseyin Yıldız)

DILRUBA’S MOTHER: SHE HAS HEALTH PROBLEMS

Stating that Dilruba K. was sent to Şakran Women’s Prison, Lawyer Yıldız said the following regarding Dilruba K.’s health problems:

“According to the statement her mother gave me, Dilruba has health problems. I asked her mother to retrieve the reports via e-Nabız. Of course, in this situation, we will also have an appeal for the detention not to continue. We will file an appeal stating that the detention measure would be too severe because she is ill, and we will present this to the court. She will retrieve and bring the reports. Her mother had told us that she was receiving treatment for anxiety, but courts do not give credence to such statements without reports.”

Lawyer Hüseyin Yıldız said that Dilruba’s mother does not want to make a statement until the appeal process is over and that she is anxious about her daughter’s future.

Stating that they are continuing their work for the appeal, preparing their petitions, and that the appeal will be filed by them by Thursday at the latest, Lawyer Yıldız added that he has met with his client in person and that she currently has no message for the public.

AKP’S MÜCAHİT BİRİNCİ ALSO CRITICIZED THE ARREST

After the decision became a topic of discussion on social media, reactions from politicians and legal experts followed one after another. AKP member Mücahit Birinci was among those who criticized the decision.

AKP’s Mücahit Birinci said, “My comment as a legal expert, as there is no room for debate: The crime within the scope of TCK 216/2 does not require arrest in terms of the lower limit of the sentence. Even against someone we feel human anger towards, we learned from our ancestors to be fair. The greatness of the state lies in its justice.”

CHP İzmir Deputy Tuncay Zorba said, “This shame is a legal murder. Whether you like it or not, how can you produce a crime from a citizen’s freedom of expression? I condemn this decision that ignores freedom of expression, which is also under constitutional guarantee,” while IYI Party Secretary General Uğur Poyraz stated, “Arresting a simple citizen who is not a professional orator, instead of just taking legal action for insults uttered while getting carried away while expressing their feelings to a microphone extended to them while walking on the street, is a clear example of how the law is wielded as a stick over dissidents and how this is being normalized. We will not insult, but we will continue to resist against your corruption, our poverty, and your arbitrary bans.”

Memleket Party Chairman Muharrem İnce also commented, “If intimidation has begun against those giving street interviews by using the power of the state, it means that the end of that government has come.”

İZMİR BAR ASSOCIATION: WE WANT AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY, NOT A PALACE JUDICIARY

A legal assessment titled “We want an independent judiciary, not a palace judiciary” regarding the arrest of Dilruba K. came from the İzmir Bar Association. The Bar’s written statement included the following expressions:

“A government that cannot tolerate criticism… People whose freedom of expression has been taken away… and lawless punishments that are valid in a one-man regime…

Today, a new one has been added to the ‘arrest’ decisions given as a way of punishing without trial. Today in İzmir, a person was arrested just for expressing their thoughts in a street interview. We remind you that, contrary to the practice; ‘arrest’ is not a punitive sanction, but a security measure that can be applied only in the presence of very strict conditions. Put an immediate end to the disproportionate, unlawful arrest; the ‘detention’ given to silence and intimidate people in society! Obey the laws!”

News Source: 12punto