Community Center Members Arrested Over Secularity Call

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Community Center members Hamit Dışkaya and Ayşegül Başar have been arrested by İstanbul 14th Criminal Court of Judgeship for making a call for secularity in coffeehouses in Okmeydanı district of İstanbul following the attack in Reina nightclub in Ortaköy during new year celebrations.

Deniz Özbilgin, an attorney representing Başar and Dışkaya stated that the community center members were arrested on charge of "inciting people to hate and hostility" regulated in Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul Deputy Barış Yarkadaş making a statement in front of Çağlayan Courthouse has criticised the court decision.

"As they could not tell the members of the community house 'we are arresting you for defending secularity', they had to make up a crime".

Secularity provided on Article 2 of the Constitution

Recalling that secularism was provided on Article 2 of the Constitution, Yarkadaş noted; "There are millions of people backing the values Ayşegül and Hamit advocate. Why does the Ministry of the Interior take offence when ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is condemned or a call for secularity is being made? What are they trying to cover with this arrest?"

The call for secularity which led to arrest

The call Ayşegül Başar and Hamit Dışkaya made in Okmeydanı is as follows:

"These are people who are trying to make our lives miserable with their massacres. But enough is enough. We are not going to allow ISIS members and jihadist gangs in our neighbourhood anymore. It's enough. There is a flag which we need to unfurl against bigotry. That is the flag of secularism. Secularism, freedom, fraternity mean the struggle for humane life. We urge everybody to be a soldier of this struggle and to call bigots, fascists and presidential system lovers to account. Thank you for listening". (EKN/DG)