Terror charges against Turkish model Didem Soydan dismissed
ISTANBUL
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed a criminal complaint against Turkish model Didem Soydan who faced accusations of making propaganda for a terrorist organization over a post on her Instagram account.
The prosecutor’s office gave its decision on grounds that the post did not amount to “terror propaganda” following a preliminary investigation, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on March 13.
Soydan’s Aug. 28, 2018 post shows Emine Ocak, a recognized member of the Saturday Mothers group marking the forced disappearances of hundreds of people in the last decades. Emine Ocak was holding a portrait of her late son Hasan Ocak, whose body was found in a cemetery of nameless people in Istanbul’s Beykoz district after weeks-long searches following his disappearance during mass protests in the Gazi neighborhood in 1995.
“Dear mother and other dear mothers like you: I apologize for all that has happened. No need to elaborate or explain the reasons and causes. The photograph is enough. A mother looks for his son,” Soydan wrote, referring to claims that Ocak “disappeared” after being detained by police.
They [Saturday Mothers] lexically mean love, tenacity, heart and motherhood to me,” she added, also apologizing for how they had been treated.
The post was liked by more than 16,000 users.
The prosecutor’s office acted on a criminal complaint filed by the anti-cybercrime department of the police, daily Sabah reported on March 13.
The Saturday Mothers have gathered mostly at Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square on the iconic İstiklal Avenue since 1995 to demand justice for those political activists who disappeared allegedly after being detained by undercover units. But their sit-ins were sometimes prohibited by authorities and prevented by police.
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