12/02/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
The prosecutor demanded LGBTI+ activist Iris Mozalar to be sentenced for “publicly inciting hatred and hostility” after she criticized the attacks on Syrian refugees. The case was adjourned to February 26.
The second hearing of the lawsuit filed against LGBTI+ activist İris Mozalar due to “public incitement to hatred and hostility” based on her social media posts criticizing the racist attacks against Syrians in Kayseri was held at Istanbul 61st Criminal Court of First Instance.
Mozalar, who was detained on July 10, 2024 due to her four posts, was arrested a day later and released on July 12.
Barriers erected in the corridor before the hearing
According to MLSA reporter Eylem Sonbahar's news report; before today's hearing of Mozalar's trial, police officers erected a barrier in the corridor where the courtroom is located. When the lawyers asked whether this was done with a judge's order, the police responded "for security measures".
Mozalar, who was present at the hearing with her lawyers, began her defense by saying, "The posts in question contain expressions criticizing the discrimination and violence that people of various identities living in Turkey are subjected to, and they are never intended to incite the public to hatred and hostility. In my posts, I expressed my personal thoughts."
"What I have written stands in stark opposition to the attempt to incite hatred and hostility"
Mozalar continued her defense by saying that she is not a public figure or politician and that the reach of her tweets is not conducive to inciting hatred and violence, "Criticizing a situation by referring to events in history so that these events are not repeated does not incite people to hatred. My writings contain my desire that certain incidents do not escalate. Reminding does not incite hatred, and remembering does not mean holding a grudge. My recalling or remembering events in history should make anyone who reads it properly think that I want these events not to repeat themselves. What I have written stands in stark opposition to the attempt to incite the public to hatred and hostility."
Stating that she had been subjected to rights violations and ill-treatment during her detention and arrest, Mozalar said, “I demand that the criminal proceedings against me be ended immediately and that I be acquitted after a fair trial.”
Presenting the final opinion on the case, the prosecutor claimed that İris Mozalar had committed the crime of “public incitement to hatred and hostility” and demanded a sentence.
Mozalar and her lawyers requested time to make a defense against the final opinion. The court accepted the request and adjourned the hearing to February 26.
After the hearing, many civil and riot police officers continued to follow the defendant out of the courthouse.
Tags: human rights, women, media
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