Turkish court releases woman arrested for street interview

Duvar English

A Turkish court on Aug. 29 released Dilruba Kayserilioğlu, arrested 18 days ago for criticizing the blocking of Instagram during a street interview. 

Kayserilioğlu was arrested on Aug. 12 in the Aegean province of İzmir, charged with "inciting hatred and enmity among the public" and “insulting the Turkish President.”  

Her appeal against the charges of "inciting hatred and enmity" and "insulting the president" had been rejected. However, the court later lifted her detention on the charge of "insulting the president" and imposed a travel ban, while her detention for "inciting hatred and enmity" continued.

Kayserilioğlu's mother, speaking to the oppositional news channel Halk TV, recounted that her daughter was released in the evening without informing anyone. She explained that after being released, Kayserilioğlu waited at a bus stop, borrowed a phone from someone on the street, and called her mother. She finally reached her home around 11 p.m.

The mother, expressing her frustration over the late-night release of her daughter without informing the family, said, "My daughter was released last night. But neither I nor her lawyer were informed. My daughter found a phone and called me; that’s how I found out. We spoke with her lawyers, and we will be filing a complaint about this." Speaking to ANKA, Aysel Kayserilioğlu said they welcomed her daughter's release with joy but were upset about not being informed.

Özgür Özel, head of Turkey's main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP), announced Kayserilioğlu's release on his social media account, and condemned that "she was arrested in the first place." 

"I find it important that Dilruba, who was never supposed to be arrested in the first place, has regained her freedom. But this whole process has harmed our legal system as well as our democracy," he wrote. 

Özel continued, "We shall build a democracy where none of our citizens will lose their freedom for expressing their thoughts and beliefs."  

Ebubekir Şahin, head of Turkey’s state-run media watchdog Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), recently stated that street interviews or broadcasts labeled as "citizen opinions" on new media platforms would come under their scrutiny.

After Dilruba Y.’s arrest, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç claimed that “If you speak in a way that incites people to hatred and enmity, the judiciary will step in.”

Turkish court arrests woman for ‘insulting President’ in street interview Domestic

Turkish woman arrested for criticizing gov't in street interview: 'They cannot intimidate me'Domestic

Turkish media watchdog now eyes street interviews for ‘disinformation’Media