Woman from Turkey’s southeast denies joining Israeli army

ISTANBUL

Sabiha İrem Çevik (R) says she is not the person in the profile photo (L) of the Twitter account opened for her name.

A woman from Turkey’s southeastern province of Şanlıurfa has denied she joined the Israeli army over a photo widely circulated on social media.

Sabiha İrem Çevik filed a criminal complaint at a police station in the neighboring Gaziantep province on Sept. 12, noting that she was shown as a target on social media, according to a report by Sabah newspaper.

The photo of a woman in military uniform was recently shared by a Twitter account bearing Çevik’s name, allegedly showing her and claiming that she served in the Israeli army last year.

“An operation is underway in Gaza to clear it from Hamas. Our troops have entered 5 kilometers,” the account had said in a tweet, which went viral on Turkish social media with hundreds of negative responses.

“It is my name but I am not the person in the photo. I’ve never gone abroad and I did not lose my identification card. I am so angry that my name is used in such an insulting manner. I have some names in my mind that could have done it. It is definitely done by someone we know,” Çevik was quoted as telling the police.

“My childhood and my youth were spent reading and watching all the evil things that Israel did to the Muslims in Palestine and Gaza. How can I serve in the army of such a country?” she said.