Court accepts indictment against Turkish fashion designer Şansal over ‘inciting hatred’

Damla GÜLER

A court has accepted an indictment prepared against Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Şansal and has said his trial would be held on March 16. 

The court has ordered for the continuation of Şansal’s detention and demanded one to three years in jail over charges of “inciting hatred and hostility among the public.” 

The court has clarified a previous indictment that was returned, which demanded three years in jail for Şansal, who was arrested on charges of “inciting hate among the public” in social media posts and video footage in which he “insulted” Turkey, on the grounds that the indictment had “inconsistencies.” 

The indictment against Şansal, who was deported from Northern Cyprus and arrested in Turkey for social media posts shared in the early hours of Jan. 1, was not accepted by the court. 

The court noted that the indictment claimed one of Şansal’s tweets was sent from Istanbul, though the suspect was in Cyprus at the time.

It also said the content of the charge was “inciting hatred among the public,” but the offense that referred him to the court for arrest, “insulting the Turkish nation,” was also included in the file. This would create confusion in any trial, it ruled.