Lawyers representing journalist Ali Kismir, who faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of having “insulted” the Turkish Cypriot armed forces, on Thursday requested that the case against him be referred to the north’s constitutional court on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.
Kismir allegedly “insulted” the Turkish Cypriot armed force in a Facebook post in which he likened their headquarters to a brothel after it had allegedly been visited by representatives of Ersin Tatar in the run-up to the 2020 Turkish Cypriot leadership election.
He briefly appeared in court on Thursday, but the case against him was adjourned until Monday after his lawyers made the request, saying that the law against “insulting” the Turkish Cypriot armed forces in and of itself is not compliant with the ‘TRNC’s’ constitution.
His lawyer Cansu Nazli explained outside court that in her opinion, the case runs contrary to six separate articles of the constitution.
Firstly, she said, there has been “a contradiction regarding the form and characteristics of the state” as referred to in article 1 of the constitution, which states that the north is “a secular republic based on the principles of democracy, social justice, and the rule of law”.
She then referred to article 10, which, in its first annex, states that “everyone has inviolable, inalienable, and indispensable fundamental rights and freedoms which are attached to their person”.
“What we call fundamental rights include freedom of the press and freedom of expression. It has been stated that this law is contrary to the relevant article,” she said.
She also referred to article 11, which states that “fundamental rights and freedoms can only be restricted by law, without affecting their essence, for reasons such as public interest, public order, general morality, social justice, national security, general health, and the security of the life and property of individuals”.
Additionally, she made reference to article 18, which outlines the rights of those who stand accused of crimes, and article 24, which guarantees the right to freedom of thought and opinion, and states that “there is no crime of thought”.
Annex 2 of article 24 states, “everyone has the right to express and disseminate their opinions … by speech, writing, pictures, or other means”, and that “this right includes the freedom to express their opinions, to receive and impart information and ideas without the intervention of any official authority”.
The final article to which she referred was article 26, which guarantees freedom of the press in the north.
“Since Ali Kismir is a journalist, it was stated that there was a constitutional violation by pointing out the freedom of the press,” she said.
European Federation of Journalists vice president Mustafa Kuleli was also present in court on Wednesday, and made a speech outside after proceedings had been drawn to a close.
“We are not in a position to comment on an ongoing trial. The federation represents more than 320,000 journalists, and all of their hearts beat here. We are here to show this. The ears of our colleagues in Europe are here. We believe that freedom of the press will win in the end,” he said.
At a previous hearing in December, it had been said that the Turkish Cypriot police had begun investigating Kismir before a complaint had been filed against him, with high-profile lawyer Mine Atli telling the Cyprus Mail at the time that “if this is true, it is a massive deal”.
“For any investigation to be undertaken, there needs to be a complaint. Even when you see big scandals and the police are asked why they have not begun investigating, they say they are waiting for a complaint to be filed,” she said.
Meanwhile, five diplomatic missions in Cyprus offered their support to Kismir, with US ambassador in Nicosia Julie Davis Fisher describing the trial as “a critical moment for press freedom”.
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