27.02.2026 17:55
The indictment has been completed regarding Mehmet Emin Korkmaz, a member of the İYİ Party, who was arrested due to social media posts targeting Eskişehir Mihalgazi Mayor Zeynep Güneş over her headscarf. Korkmaz, who was also expelled from his party, is facing a request for a total of up to 5 years in prison for two separate offenses.
The investigation into M.E.K., who was arrested due to a social media post targeting Mihalgazi Mayor Zeynep Güneş in Eskişehir, has been completed. The indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office was accepted by the court, and a prison sentence was requested for the defendant on two separate charges.
INDICTMENT ACCEPTED
The indictment prepared as part of the investigation conducted by the Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was accepted by the Eskişehir 11th Criminal Court of First Instance.
In the indictment, it was alleged that M.E.K. made a post containing "publicly inciting hatred and hostility" from his social media account and also committed the crime of insult.
"MY ACCOUNT WAS HACKED" DEFENSE
The suspect M.E.K. claimed in his statement at the police that the social media account in question was hacked and that he did not make the post.
However, the expert and technical examination reports included in the file indicated that the account was accessed from the defendant's own device on the date the post was made. The indictment assessed that the statement regarding the account being hacked was "aimed at escaping from the crime."
REQUEST FOR PRISON SENTENCE ON TWO SEPARATE CHARGES
The prosecutor's office requested a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years for the crime of publicly inciting hatred and hostility, and 1 to 2 years for the crime of insult against the detained suspect.
IT WAS NOT HIS FIRST OFFENSE EITHER
The indictment also stated that M.E.K. had previously been tried for the crime of "insulting the President" at the Erzurum 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance and received a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days.
It was expressed that a decision was made to suspend the announcement of the verdict (HAGB) for this sentence, and that the decision became final on September 22, 2023.
The prosecutor's office requested that the relevant court be notified for the cancellation of the HAGB decision on the grounds that a new crime was committed during the probation period.
The suspect M.E.K. was captured in Erzurum on February 8 and was arrested by the judge at the courthouse to which he was referred after his procedures.
MAYOR GÜNEŞ ATTENDED THE AK PARTY GROUP MEETING
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan invited Mihalgazi Mayor Zeynep Güneş to the AK Party Parliamentary Group Meeting. In his speech at the meeting, Erdoğan stated, "I condemn the attack on our mayor Zeynep Güneş. Our Mayor Zeynep shows the nobility of Anatolian women. Our struggle against those who look down on the nation will continue. We will not turn a blind eye to oppression."