17.03.2025 09:55
The defendant, who served customers at tables in a restaurant in Beyoğlu while wearing a military uniform, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison. The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included the statement of the suspect, Yousuf Jaafer, who said, "There was no flag or writing on the uniform I was wearing; I did not know it was a Turkish military uniform."
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On April 16, 2024, in Beyoğlu, the ongoing trial regarding the images of a foreign national serving customers at tables in a restaurant while wearing a military uniform on social media was concluded recently.
1 YEAR 6 MONTHS PRISON SENTENCE FOR 3 DEFENDANTS
The court sentenced the defendants Abdulkadir Güler, Adnan Kalkmaz, and Yousuf Jaafer to a total of 1 year and 6 months in prison for the crimes of 'publicly insulting the religious values adopted by a segment of the public', 'insulting the Republic of Turkey and its Government', and 'improper use of special signs and clothing'. The court decided to postpone the announcement of the verdict for all three charges against the defendants.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that an investigation was initiated upon seeing a person wearing a military uniform serving at tables in a business in a video on social media, and it was determined that the responsible manager of the business was Abdulkadir Güler, the owner of the business was Adnan Kalkmaz, and the person serving in military uniform in the video was Yousuf Jaafer, a Syrian national.
OF A NATURE TO UNDERMINE THE RESPECT OF THE MILITARY ORGANIZATION
The indictment stated that the video published by the suspects had a nature that undermined the honor and respect of the state's military organization, that the content of the video could not be legally protected in the context of freedom of expression, and that it was aimed at publicly insulting the military organization of the state, contributing nothing to the development of society.
The indictment noted that the video contained actions aimed at provoking incitement and behavior, which directed a segment of the public against another segment with hatred and enmity, and that the video was shared multiple times with comments by many accounts and groups after being published on social media and press outlets, creating a public agenda, and additionally, it created an effect that would cause concern among those provoked, resulting in an open and imminent danger to public safety.
"I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS A TURKISH MILITARY UNIFORM"
In the indictment, the statement of suspect Yousuf Jaafer was included, where he said, "I entered Turkey from Syria through legal means in the summer of 2017. After arriving in Turkey, I first started working in restaurants in the Bakırköy district of Istanbul and then in the Beylikdüzü district. Later, in the summer of 2022, I started filming videos and earning income through social media. When I went to the mentioned restaurant, two foreign nationals who said they came from Dubai, brought me a military uniform they had obtained from Eminönü and offered to film a video. I accepted this offer thinking that a video in military uniform would get more views. The two people at the table where I served meat in the video are the two unknown individuals who brought me the military uniform and made the video offer. There was no flag or writing on the uniform I wore; I did not know it was a Turkish military uniform. I am very regretful. My intention in filming the video was definitely not to insult the Turkish military organization," he stated.
The indictment also noted that suspect Jaafer wore military clothing in a way that could mislead others and later deleted the video he published from his account, and that the defenses of the responsible manager of the business, suspect Abdulkadir Güler, and the owner of the business, suspect Adnan Kalkmaz, regarding the video being filmed outside of their authority and remaining on air would not be taken into account.
REQUEST FOR UP TO 7 YEARS 6 MONTHS IN PRISON
In the prepared indictment, it was requested that suspects Abdulkadir Güler, Adnan Kalkmaz, and Yousuf Jaafer be sentenced to a total of 2 years and 3 months to 7 years and 6 months in prison for the crimes of 'publicly insulting the military or security organization of the state', 'improper use of special signs and clothing', and 'publicly inciting or insulting the public to hatred and enmity'.
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