MP Selina Dogan

Hate Speech against MP Dogan Goes Unpunished

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ISTANBUL (Agos) — Member of Parliament Selina Dogan, who is Armenian, filed a lawsuit against a person who used hate speech against her on social media.

Alican Ulusag from Cumhuriyet, said Ibrahim Kaplan of Manisa commented on a video on Dogan’s Facebook page. He wrote: “You are clearly servants of Armenians and Byzantines. Do you think that grandchildren of Sultan Fatih are dead, while the grandchildren of Byzantines are still alive? You harlot.”

Upon the complaint of Dogan, a libel suit was launched. The judge noted that remarks of Kaplan are defaming and insulting, but he ruled that there is no need for punishing Kaplan.

In the detailed ruling, a tweet that Dogan shared 2 months later than the incident is considered as “wrongful act” and it is claimed that there is mutual insult.

Dogan, 2 months later than the incidence of hate speech, tweeted about the suicide attack in Ankara on March 13, 2016. She wrote, “Unless we talk about the reasons leading a woman born in 1992 to detonate herself for killing others, combating terrorism means nothing.” The court considered this tweet as “wrongful act:” “Dogan doesn’t blame PKK for the action of a woman suicide bomber from PKK who killed many innocent people; rather, she holds the state responsible for this attack.”

Speaking to Cumhuriyet, Dogan referred to Erdogan’s April 24 message and said: “Since impunity is a pattern in hate speech cases, I was glad that a lawsuit was launched. However, I am insulted and then convicted. A few days ago, the president said ‘We don’t tolerate marginalization of a single Armenian citizen.’ On the other hand, judiciary that is dependent on the ruling party made a scandalous ruling and affirmed hate speech. This judge has made similar rulings before.”

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