Lawyer sentenced to probation for comments on Islamic law

As Anka news agency reported, an Istanbul court sentenced a lawyer to nine months’ probation for inciting hatred and hostility among people with her remarks about Islamic law.

Feyza Altun was briefly detained in February for allegedly insulting Sharia religious law in connection with a tweet in which she said “Fuck Sharia” in response to a comment on a Persian poem she posted on X that stated: “It looks like Feyza has had a sharia attack,” which is a play on the phrase “panic attack.”

Altun deleted the post after he was attacked on social media and users started a campaign with the hashtag “#feyzaaltuntutuklansın” (Feyza Altun should be arrested).

She was charged by prosecutors in Istanbul under Art. 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which states that anyone who openly incites hostility or hatred against another group on grounds of social class, race, religion, denominational or regional differences, in a manner likely to constitute a clear and direct threat to public security , shall be punishable by imprisonment from one to three years.

Altun, who spoke to reporters outside the courthouse on Thursday after the decision of the Beykozu Criminal Court of First Instance, said she would appeal the verdict to a higher court.

She lamented that a prosecutor, who she believed was able to rise to the prosecutor’s position thanks to Turkey’s secular government, had demanded the maximum sentence for her after Altun stated that she did not regret her remarks.

Due to her lack of remorse, the court did not commute her sentence.

In her testimony before prosecutors, Altun stated that she defined sharia as a “political regime” rather than a body of religious law. She said she is against Sharia and stands by her words.

Over the past few years, prosecutors have taken action against thousands of people in Turkey under Art. 216 TCK, which is feared to be used mainly to silence dissent.

Many claimed that the lawyer was punished by the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) simply for defending secularism, one of the principles of the Turkish Republic enshrined in the constitution.

The results of a survey conducted by the Turkish Economic Policy Research Foundation (TEPAV) indicate that the Turkish population favors a secular and democratic government. In 2016, 75% of participants expressed their desire to live in a secular country, and in 2020 this percentage increased to 81%. Similarly, a significant part of society is satisfied with living in a democratic country. The percentage of supporters of a legal system based on Sharia law fell from 22% in 2016 to 17% in 2020.