Turkey detains hundreds for critiquing, reporting on military offensive in Syria: Amnesty

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Critical discussion on issues of Kurdish rights and politics has become “even further off-limits” after hundreds have been detained in Turkey for reporting or criticizing Ankara’s recent military offensive in northern Syria, Amnesty International charged in a new report, released on Thursday.

According to the human rights watchdog, Turkish citizens are “facing absurd criminal charges as the government intensifies its crackdown on critical voices.”

“As the tanks rolled across the Syrian border, the government took the opportunity to launch a domestic campaign to eradicate dissenting opinions from media, social media and the streets,” said Amnesty’s Europe Director, Marie Struthers.

“Language around the military incursion was heavily policed, and hundreds of people who expressed their dissenting opinions about Turkey’s military operation were rounded up and are facing investigations under anti-terrorism laws.”

Hakan Demir of the daily Birgün was questioned over a tweet on the paper’s official Twitter account based on an NBC report stating that Turkish planes targeted civilians.

Meanwhile, Fatih Gökhan Diler, managing editor of the Diken news website, was detained after the publication of an article with the headline “SDF claim: two civilians lost their lives.”

Both journalists were accused of “inciting enmity and hatred” before being released with overseas travel bans pending the outcome of criminal investigations. 

Also in the first week of the offensive alone, 839 social media accounts were under investigation for “sharing criminal content.”

One social media user, who was detained and accused of “propaganda for a terrorist organization,” had retweeted three posts, one of which read: “Rojava will win. No to War.”

“Like others, these tweets did not come remotely close to constituting evidence of an internationally recognizable crime, “ Amnesty said.

One lawyer told Amnesty, “Using the words ‘war,’ ‘occupation,’ ‘Rojava’ has become a crime. The judiciary says ‘you cannot say no to war.’”

Moreover, Twitter also informed dozens of Kurdish Twitter accounts that they received “court orders” that their tweets violated Turkish laws.

Turkey has also escalated its crackdown on opposition politicians and activists. 

Several lawmakers are currently subject to criminal investigations, including Sezgin Tanrıkulu from Turkey's opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), who tweeted that the “Government needs to know this, this is an unjustified war and a war against the Kurds.”

According to lawyers from the Bar Association in Şanlıurfa province, at least 54 people were taken into police custody in the province by counter-terrorism officers on October 9 and 10. Among them were members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP).

The crackdown on freedom of expression by Turkey is not new. Also during Turkey's attack on Afrin in January 2018, scores of people were arrested over their criticism on social media of Ankara’s invasion.

“Since the start of the military offensive, Turkey’s already entrenched atmosphere of censorship and fear has deepened, with detentions and trumped-up charges used to silence the few who dare to utter any challenge or criticism of ‘Operation Peace Spring’,” Amnesty's Marie Struthers said.

“The Turkish authorities must stop gagging opinions they don’t like and end the ongoing crackdown. All charges and prosecutions of those targeted for peaceful expression of their opposition to Turkey’s military operations should be immediately dropped.”

Editing by John J. Catherine