The perpetrator of smear campaign against woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun found guilty
On 30 May 2023, Adem Taşkaya was found guilty of “insult” and “illegally obtaining and disseminating data” and sentenced to prison by the Küçükçekmece 20th Criminal Court of First Instance. The accused was responsible for targeting the woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun by posting a tweet which accused her of being the perpetrator of a bombing in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul on 22 November 2022. Due to the gravity of the offence, the court did not suspend the verdict. Therefore, if the decision is upheld by the Court of Appeals, Mr. Taşkaya will be imprisoned to serve his sentence.
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.
After the bombing in Istanbul on 13 November 2022, woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun is being falsely accused of carrying out this attack. The woman human rights defender and her family are receiving death threats and are fearing for their security. With the spread of this fake news, they are unable to stay in their homes for fear of their safety.
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.
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- 2 June 2023 : The perpetrator of smear campaign against woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun found guilty
- 10 January 2023 : Criminal lawsuit launched against perpetrator of smear campaign against woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun
- 16 November 2022 : Death threats against woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun
On 30 May 2023, Adem Taşkaya was found guilty of “insult” and “illegally obtaining and disseminating data” and sentenced to prison by the Küçükçekmece 20th Criminal Court of First Instance. The accused was responsible for targeting the woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun by posting a tweet which accused her of being the perpetrator of a bombing in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul on 22 November 2022. Due to the gravity of the offence, the court did not suspend the verdict. Therefore, if the decision is upheld by the Court of Appeals, Mr. Taşkaya will be imprisoned to serve his sentence.
Jiyan Tosun is a woman human rights defender, lawyer and a member of the Human Rights Association. She provides legal support to women and LGBTIQ+ 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 other victims of enforced disappearances together with Saturday Mothers/People.
On 4 January 2023, a criminal case was brought against Adem Taşkaya following an investigation initiated by the public prosecutor upon a complaint filed by Jiyan Tosun. Mr. Taşkaya, who was the vice-president of the political party Zafer Partisi (Victory Party) at the time of the event, posted a tweet on 13 November 2022 after a bomb exploded in Istanbul which killed eight people and wounded more than eighty. The tweet included a photo of the suspect, saying that “the bomber is a PKK lawyer, Jiyan Tosun.” Although he deleted his tweet shortly after, it quickly went viral on social media and online platforms, including news channels. The woman human rights defender and her family members started receiving death threats and were forced to leave their homes for safety reasons. Later that day, on 13 November 2022, Jiyan Tosun filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office and had to spend the night at the courthouse for her security.
In his defence statement, Mr. Taşkaya admitted that he had posted the photo of the actual suspect of the bombing but mistakenly wrote Jiyan Tosun’s name and when he realised that the information was incorrect, he tried to delete it. However, due to bandwidth throttling, he was only able to do so six minutes later. He confirmed that he got the photograph from social media group chats and that it was apparently taken from a facial recognition system which could only be accessed by a law enforcement officer. He admitted that he failed to confirm that the person in the photos was Jiyan Tosun before posting the tweet but denied that the act was intentional or racially motivated.
The woman human rights defender told the court how the tweet negatively affected not only her but her whole family and that she wasn’t able to go to her home for four weeks. She reminded the court that Mr. Taşkaya stated that he was a social media information expert and he should have been more careful, knowing how widespread disinformation can be on social media.
In his final opinion to the court, the public prosecutor said that by publicly posting the photo and referring to Jiyan Tosun as “a PKK lawyer”, Mr. Taşkaya committed the offence of “insult.” By revealing her name and profession, he also illegally disseminated private data and therefore should be punished in accordance with articles 125/1-2, 124/4 and 136/1 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The court found Adem Taşkaya guilty of both charges of “insult” and “illegally obtaining and disseminating private data.” He was sentenced to one year, 11 months and 10 days for the first charge and two years and six months for the second, totalling in a sentence of four years, five months and 10 days. The court did not suspend the sentence and deprived him of certain rights, including the right to vote or be elected, work as a public officer, or take office in non-governmental organisations until the completion of his sentence.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the court’s ruling which finds the perpetrator guilty of targeting the woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun and gives the highest possible sentence in line with the gravity of the action. In light of this ruling, Front Line Defenders urges the authorities to take all necessary measures against online harassment and the targeting of human rights defenders. It also urges the authorities to guarantee a safe environment for all human rights defenders to be able to continue their work without fear of attacks of any kind, either online or offline, in Turkey.
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.
After the bombing in Istanbul on 13 November 2022, woman human rights defender and lawyer Jiyan Tosun is being falsely accused of carrying out this attack. The woman human rights defender and her family are receiving death threats and are fearing for their security. With the spread of this fake news, they are unable to stay in their homes for fear of their safety.
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 13 November 2022, shortly after the deadly explosion that killed eight and wounded 81 people, a member of the Zafer Partisi (Victory Party), posted a tweet with the alleged attacker’s photo, saying that “the bomber is a PKK lawyer, Jiyan Tosun”. Although the tweet was deleted later on, the fake information spread quickly on social media and various online platforms. The woman human rights defender started receiving a high volume of death threats which prompted her to file a complaint with the public prosecutor. Jiyan Tosun also requested to be put under a protection scheme, as she is worried for her safety and security. She spent the night on that day at the courthouse due to fear for her safety.
A comprehensive list of personal details of all extended family members, containing their phone numbers, address and registry information was also shared on the internet websites, particularly on online gaming platforms, which resulted in the escalation of death threats by phone calls to all family members, including children. The woman human rights defender believes that this information could only be circulated by a public officer. Fearing for their security in light of the ongoing death threats, Jiyan Tosun and her family members are currently avoiding to stay at their own home addresses.
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the targeting against the woman human rights defender Jiyan Tosun and her family, as well as the death threats. It expresses its deep concern for her physical security and emotional well-being and that of her family members.
