Testimony of Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör, arrested on charges of insulting the President, has emerged

Academic and author Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör was detained and subsequently arrested on charges of "insulting the President" and "insulting a public official due to their duty" because of a post she made on social media.

Ör's lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, shared a post on his social media account that also included her prosecutor's testimony.

Our client Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör, (@BayraktarOr) was arrested by the decision of the Istanbul Anatolian 1st Criminal Court of Peace due to a post she made on her X social media account.

The appeal against the detention of Çiğdem Ör, who has completed her 10th day at the Bakırköy Women's Closed Penal Institution, was also… pic.twitter.com/zIJremMIg4

— Hüseyin Ersöz (@ersozhuseyin) February 10, 2025

Ersöz wrote the following:

"Our client Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör was arrested by the decision of the Istanbul Anatolian 1st Criminal Court of Peace due to a post she made on her X social media account.

The appeal against the detention of Çiğdem Ör, who has completed her 10th day at the Bakırköy Women's Closed Penal Institution, was concluded with a rejection decision last week.

It is not possible to say that Çiğdem Ör's social media post constitutes the crime of Insulting the President. Because the fact that a post, which can only be considered as 'harsh criticism,' forms the basis for a measure such as arrest, constitutes a violation of the Right to Liberty as well as Freedom of Expression.

In the legal process regarding Çiğdem Ör, we will file a 'request for release' in the coming days to lift the arrest measure. Furthermore, we are preparing to file an 'individual application with a request for interim measures' to the Constitutional Court to establish that this situation constitutes a severe interference with Freedom of Expression and the Right to Liberty.

The fact that expressions of opinion characterized as harsh criticism or rude remarks directed at politicians should be met with more tolerance and do not constitute a crime is a matter that has been established by the decisions of the Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Court, and the ECHR.

For this reason, I am of the opinion that not only is the arrest measure based solely on an expression of opinion disproportionate, but that the complaint of 'let us punish first, then we will judge' coming to the agenda is also a justified criticism.

For Çiğdem Ör's defense at the Prosecutor's Office..."

News Source: 12punto