Woman in Mardin risks up to 5 years in prison for twitting picture of Zapatista fighter

The Turkish government is systematically restricting freedom of expression. Tweets on social media are used to silence critical opinions. A new case is the criminalization of Zilan Ö. She is accused of sharing a picture of a Zapatista fighter and one of an armed Yazidi woman. The chief public prosecutor’s office in Mardin has initiated proceedings for terrorist propaganda and is demanding between two and five years in prison.

The accusation is based on a picture by North American artist Sam Philips depicting a Zapatista fighter. Prosecutors consider the Zapatista woman portrayed to be a “member of the armed separatist terrorist organization PKK/KCK”. Publishing such a photo, according to the prosecutor, meant “legitimizing” their actions.

In addition, a tweet dated 6 September 2020 is also the subject of the indictment. It shows a Yazidi woman with a gun and a baby in her arms. This Yazidi, who is protecting herself against the IS genocide, was also considered a “PKK member” by the public prosecutor.