A Turkish court on Tuesday acquitted labor union leader Mehmet Türkmen of spreading misleading information and ordered his release after 57 days in pretrial detention, Turkish Minute reported.
Türkmen, president of the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union (BİRTEK-SEN), had been jailed since March 16 over remarks he made during a protest by workers at the Sırma Halı carpet factory in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
The Gaziantep 38th Criminal Court of First Instance ruled at the first hearing that Türkmen be acquitted of “publicly disseminating misleading information,” a charge introduced into the Turkish Penal Code in 2022 and frequently criticized by rights groups and journalists as a tool to restrict public criticism.
The prosecutor requested Türkmen’s conviction, while Türkmen and his lawyers sought acquittal.
The court acquitted him and ordered his release.
Türkmen told the court the case had been filed following a complaint by the factory owner and said he was being punished for defending workers’ rights.
“I became guilty because I asked for accountability for a severed arm,” Türkmen said in his defense, referring to a speech in which he cited a 47-year-old worker who lost both arms in a workplace accident at the Şireci textile factory in December 2025 and said no one had been held accountable.
The protest involved around 400 Sırma Halı workers who stopped work over delayed wages and the lack of pay raises.
The factory is owned by Hanifi Şireci, a businessman known for his close ties to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Türkmen was initially accused of “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” over his remarks at the workers’ protest, but the charge was later changed to “publicly disseminating misleading information” when he was referred to court, according to media reports.
The indictment accused him of making statements that were allegedly false and capable of disturbing public order and sought a prison sentence of one to three years as well as a ban on holding union office.
Türkmen’s lawyers had previously sought his release after the indictment was completed, arguing that the grounds for his continued detention no longer existed, but the Gaziantep court rejected the request, as did a higher criminal court on appeal.
Before Tuesday’s hearing, Türkmen’s mother, Ayşe Türkmen, called for her son’s release.
“What is my son’s crime? Was he arrested because he defended the rights of workers who lost arms and hands?” she said. “I came to take my son home. I will not leave empty-handed.”
Several politicians and union representatives attended the hearing.
Türkmen had previously been detained during labor protests in Gaziantep’s Başpınar industrial zone in February 2025 and spent more than a month in jail before being released under house arrest, which was later lifted.
Labor rights advocates say workplace accidents, unpaid wages and pressure on union organizing remain persistent problems in Turkey’s industrial sector, while critics accuse the government of using broad criminal charges to intimidate labor activists and discourage collective action.
