Chanting pro-Kurdish slogans and singing songs in Kurdish are protected by freedom of speech laws, Turkey’s Constitutional Court said on Thursday, in a ruling ordering the retrial of a woman who had been convicted of allegedly disseminating Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) propaganda.
According to the Artı Gerçek news website, Merve Nur Tekin was convicted by the Ardahan High Criminal Court for promoting the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, by chanting slogans such as “Biji Serok Apo” (Long live leader Apo) and “The PKK is the people, the people are here” at a 2014 protest in Diyarbakır responding to the killing of a Kurdish politician. She was also accused of singing a Kurdish revolutionary song.
After her conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals, Tekin appealed to the Constitutional Court, arguing that her right to free speech had been violated. The Constitutional Court ruled in her favor, stating that her actions did not pose a tangible threat and fell within the scope of free speech.
The court said propaganda laws must be applied only when speech presents a clear danger and emphasized that provocative statements, while offensive to some, are protected unless they incite violence. The decision referred to earlier rulings where references to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan were found not to constitute an endorsement of terrorism.
Tekin was awarded 30,000 Turkish lira ($875) in damages, and the case was sent back to the Ardahan court for retrial.
While Öcalan remains a deeply divisive figure in Turkey, with public displays of support often resulting in legal consequences, the court emphasized that Tekin’s actions did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution under Article 26 of the constitution.
