Criminal lawsuit launched against perpetrator of smear campaign against woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun

On 4 January 2023, a criminal lawsuit was launched against Adem Taşkaya, the co-president of Zafer Partisi (Victory Party), who had posted a tweet targeting woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun and falsely accusing her as the perpetrator of the bomb attack in Istanbul on 13 November 2022. The woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun filed a complaint against Adem Taşkaya and other unidentified perpetrators, seeking that they be named and prosecuted.

Jiyan Tosun is a woman human rights defender, lawyer and a member of Human Rights Association. She provides legal support to women and LGBTI+ survivors at the Legal Assistance Office against Sexual Abuse and Rape in Detention. Jiyan Tosun is the daughter of Fehmi Tosun, who was forcibly disappeared in 1995. The woman human rights defender has been seeking justice for her father and the other enforced disappearances together with Saturday Mothers/People.

On 4 January 2023, a criminal lawsuit was launched against Adem Taşkaya, who had posted a tweet targetting woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun by falsely accusing her as a perpetrator of the bomb attack in Istanbul on 13 November 2022. He posted her photo, saying that “the bomber is a PKK lawyer, Jiyan Tosun”. Following the tweet, Jiyan Tosun and her family started receiving a high number of death threats, which ultimately led to their decision to leave their home. This prompted Jiyan Tosun to filea complaint with the public prosecutor against Adem Taşkaya and other unidentified perpetrators. Jiyan Tosun also requested to be put under a protection scheme, as she worried for her safety and security. The Kücükçekmece 20th Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment against Adem Taşkaya, who is charged with offences of “insult” as per Article 125/2, and illegally disseminating personal data as per Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code. The trial is set to begin on 30 May 2023.

During the woman human rights defender’s statement to the prosecutor on 15 November 2022, she gave an account of the incident and said that in Adem Taşkaya’s tweet, he named her as the perpetrator of the attack, publicly giving her full name and profession. Following this tweet, her and her family’s personal details, such as their ID details, addresses and phone numbers, were circulated in police telegram groups and various social media accounts. This has led to Jiyan Tosun and her family receiving insults and threats via their phones and social media accounts.

During Adem Taşkaya’s statement, he told the prosecutor that as a political person, he was interacting with many twitter groups and within two of these groups, Jiyan Tosun was named as the perpetrator. He commented, that although he saw her detailed personal information being shared in these groups, he didn’t post them in his tweet. He argued that given the shock of the attack, and his own status as a political figure, he believed that it was his responsibility to share this information with the public. After he posted the tweet, he was concerned that it might cause a problem and tried to delete it immediately. However, due to the internet restrictions imposed, he was only able to delete it three minutes later. He also posted another tweet the next day, accepting that what he did was a mistake and that he himself was a victim of misinformation on social media. He finished his statement by accepting the offence he was accused of, but his intention was not to commit the attributed charges.

The indictment states that as an active social media user the suspect (Adem Taşkaya) should have been experienced enough to treat the posts with caution. It recounts how he shared the woman human rights defender’s full name and her profession without carrying out any research and in the absence of any concrete evidence against her. It concludes that Adem Taşkaya has impugned Jiyan Tosun’s dignity, honour and prestige by falsely accusing her as the perpetrator of the attack and of being a member of PKK. It recommends that the accused be prosecuted for “insult” as per the relevant articles of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the indictment states that for publicly sharing the woman human rights defender’s first name, last name, and profession, Adem Taşkaya should be held acountable for disseminating personal data illegally.

Front Line Defenders welcomes the legal action against Adem Taşkaya, who is responsible for causing grave security risks to the woman human rights defender and her family, as a positive step towards the protection of human rights defenders in Turkey. Front Line Defenders reiterates its call to the Turkish authorities to put Jiyan Tosun under a protection scheme. Front Line Defenders urges the government to take all necessary measures to ensure that all human rights defenders in Turkey can carry out their legitimate human rights activities, free from all kinds of attacks, including tactics such as targeting, intimidation, smear campaigns physical or online attacks, and free from all restrictions and reprisals.