Profile
Baransel Ağca is an investigative journalist who has been subject to criminal prosecution and intimidation after covering the suspicious death of journalist Yeldana Kahraman, which was claimed to be associated with a then-MP for the ruling party AKP. The charges he has faced include “illegally obtaining or disseminating private information” for publicly sharing Kahraman’s autopsy report, and “insulting the President” and “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public” under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code over his tweets. The journalist currently resides in Germany.
Status
Trial ongoing. Next hearing will be held on 4 October 2024.
On 20 September 2022, ARTICLE 19 attended the second hearing in the case against Baransel Ağcare regarding the “insulting religion” charges under Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code.
This case profile focuses on the “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public” case against him.
The case of Baransel Ağca
On 16 September 2021, Baransel Ağca was indicted by İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public” under Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code. The accusation stems from a tweet that he posted on 25 December 2020 in which Ağca humorously referred to the historical background of prohibition of alcohol in Islam, which states that:
In the beginning, Mohammed did not care about wine or anything. Chaos ensued when Abu Bakr started coming to the sermons drunk, making fun of everything Mohammed was saying with remarks such as “exactly bro, I’m sure you’re right”. Mohammed ended up prohibiting wine because he was mad at that1
Charges
- Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code – publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public where the act is capable of disturbing public peace.
Previously, the defendant was investigated for four other tweets relating to the corruption allegations regarding former Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu, but no charges were pressed. The defence argues that the defendant was investigated on the basis of these tweets about corruption, and then indicted for this tweet which was proactively found by the Istanbul Cyber Crimes Combat Unit when looking for an opportune basis for prosecution of the journalist because it was not possible for investigators to charge the defendant with the four tweets relating to corruption.
The prosecutor states in the indictment that the investigation against him was initiated after the “virtual patrol”, a deliberate screening of his social media by law enforcement, rather than a crime report or complaint regarding the tweet.
The legal basis of conducting virtual patrol through social media in search for grounds to prosecute social media users was found unconstitutional and annulled by the Turkish Constitutional Court on 19 February 2020, almost one year before the journalist’s tweet on 25 December 2020. Despite being outlawed through a Constitutional Court decision in February 2020, the practice is still rampant, as demonstrated in this case.
ARTICLE 19 attended the third hearing in the case on 20 September 2022, and submitted an expert opinion to the case on 6 November 2023. The expert opinion holds that the prosecution of Ağca constitutes a violation of his freedom of expression and calls for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the abolition of Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code.
In the expert opinion we highlight that international human rights bodies consistently dismiss the protection of religious beliefs as grounds to limit free expression; that only expressions of religious hatred inciting violence, discrimination, or hostility towards individuals may legitimately be restricted. We also note that the investigation in the case lacks legal grounding, as the practice of “virtual patrol” had been annulled by the Constitutional Court before Ağca’s tweet and indictment.
ARTICLE 19 joins the defence lawyer in the view that the virtual patrol and resulting charges in this case were instrumentalised to stifle the dissenting opinions of Ağca and to retaliate for his legitimate journalistic work.
Timeline of the trial
Date of tweet
Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issues an indictment against Baransel Ağca for “publicly degrading the religious values of a section of the public”. The charges are based on a tweet that the journalist posted on 25 December 2020.
First hearing of the trial is held.
Second hearing of the trial is held.
The court decides to wait for the determination of the address of the defendant in Germany until the next hearing on 20 September 2022.
Third hearing of the trial is held.
ARTICLE 19 attends the hearing and draws attention to the case through Twitter.
The court decides to request from German courts that Ağca’s defence statement be taken in Germany. The defence lawyer requests that law enforcement personnel conducting the outlawed practice of virtual patrol be investigated. The court decides to revisit this matter later when a judgment is made in the current case.
Fourth hearing of the trial is held.
Fifth hearing of the trial is held.
The court decides to wait for German courts to respond to the request made for Ağca’s defence statement to be taken in Germany.
Sixth hearing of the trial is held.
ARTICLE 19 submits an expert opinion to the case stating that Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code should be abolished and the charges against Ağca should be dropped.
German authorities respond negatively to the request for Ağca’s defence statement to be taken in Germany stating that the fundamental right to the freedom of expression is indispensable and the enforcement of the request would be against the public order of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Seventh hearing of the trial is held.
Neither Ağca nor his lawyer attend the hearing. The next hearing will be held on 4 October 2024.
- The original tweet in Turkish reads: “Zaten Muahmmed de başta ses etmiyor şaraba falan. Fakat Ebubekir piyizlenip piyizlenip hutbelere alkollü gelince ortalık karışıyor. Muhemmed konuştukça arkalardan “Aynen abiiiii kesin öyledir” şeklinde taşak geçince Muhammed sinirlenip şarabı yasaklıyor.” ↩︎