Prison Sentence for Dubious Facebook Account

Adem Karahan, distributor of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper in Ağırlı, was sentenced to imprisonment of two years because the words "Apo is our heart, the east is our soul, the guerrilla is our hope" were posted on a Facebook account registered in his name. 'Apo' refers to Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Karahan claimed that the account opened on Facebook as one of the biggest social networking sites did not belong to him.

In an interview with bianet, Karahan summarized the incidents as follows:

"Four months ago I was called to Doğubayazıt to give my statement. There I learned that a Facebook account in the name of "Adem Kara" had been opened with my telephone number and two photographs of mine. In the statement I said that it was not me who opened that account and pointed out that the last name was different anyways", Karahan recalled.

The police referred to Karahan's photographs and his telephone number given in the account of "Adem Kara". They claimed that Karahan had posted the words in the section of "personal messages" reading "Apo is our heart, the east is our soul, the guerrilla is our hope".

Karahan continued, "The person who registered the account in my name also gave my phone number on the site. I got to know that the police reached me via that phone number".

"I saw the account in my name for the first time then. When I gave the statement they said that they had been informed about the account and the writings via e-mail but they did not show the mail to me. Subsequently, a case was opened against me before the Erzurum 2^nd High Criminal Court".

"I did not go to the court in Erzurum [eastern Anatolia]. I got to know about the charges of 'spreading propaganda of an illegal organization' pressed against me and the two-year prison sentence when I received a notification on 13 June. The file will be forwarded to the Court of Appeals".

Karahan had previously been sentenced to imprisonment of one year in 2010 in the context of a different case. This file is pending at the Court of Appeals as well. Karahan was representing the Azadiya Welat daily in Doğubayazıt at the time. A court had decided to confiscate a calendar distributed by the daily. Karahan was again charged with "propaganda" because he distributed both the newspaper and the calendar.

Evidence: e-mail

In the scope of the latest case, Karahan was taken into police custody by the Cyber Crimes department of the Doğubayazıt District Police Directorate in February 2010. He was released after he had given his statement. The court board had relied on an e-mail sent to the Ankara Police Directorate as evidence.

The court convicted Karahan by taking into account his criminal record, previous similar actions, the way the crime was committed, the subject of the offence and its severity.

Karahan put forward that he had no information about the e-mail considered as evidence. He claimed that he did not send it and that he did not open the Facebook account. (AS/VK)