ISTANBUL (Stockholm Center for Freedom) — Tuğçe Yılmaz, an editor at the independent Turkish news outlet Bianet who was detained by police during an identity check in İstanbul on June 4, was released from custody on Wednesday after testifying to prosecutors about a report on Armenian youth, Turkish Minute reported.
Yılmaz, who was detained at the Kadıköy ferry terminal, was later transported to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan early on Wednesday to testify to prosecutors.
The prosecutors asked the journalist about an article she wrote on April 24, 2024, titled, “Young Armenians of Turkey Speak: A Mourning that Has Lasted 109 Years,” referring to the mass killings of Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
Armenians mark April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, and in her article Yılmaz referred to the mass killings of Armenians as genocide, a term Turkey categorically rejects. The case file was submitted to the court just two days ago, resulting in charges against the journalist.
According to Bianet, prosecutors are investigating Yılmaz under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes “insulting the Turkish nation” and has been widely criticized by human rights groups for restricting freedom of expression.
In her statement to the prosecutor, Yılmaz said that the article was based on interviews with two young members of Turkey’s Armenian community. She said the piece did not contain any language that insulted individuals, institutions or state authorities and denied the accusations against her.
