Turkish court acquits director over Genocide film

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish court has acquitted filmmaker Rojhilat Aksoy in a case related to the screening of a film on the Armenian Genocide.

The second hearing took place at Diyarbakir’s 22nd Criminal Court, where Aksoy had been charged under Article 301 of Turkey’s Criminal Code over the screening of Inna Sahakyan’s 2022 film “Aurora’s Sunrise,” according to Factor.am .

The court ultimately ruled in favor of acquittal.

According to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the hearing began with a delay of about half an hour due to the large number of attendees. The prosecutor presented a final opinion, requesting that Aksoy be held liable.

Defense lawyer Firat Yildiz rejected the prosecution’s conclusions and called for acquittal, stressing that such proceedings restrict freedom of expression and pressure the arts sector. He also noted that his client was not the film’s director but had only been involved in organizing the screening.

“Even if she had been the director, this should fall within the scope of freedom of expression. The European Court of Human Rights has precedents on this issue. There are rulings where individuals and institutions, including the Diyarbakir Bar Association, prosecuted for disseminating information about the 1915 events, were acquitted,” he said.

The court eventually issued an acquittal verdict for Aksoy.

Earlier, the Diyarbakir Chief Prosecutor’s Office had filed charges against Aksoy, then vice president of the Middle East Cinema Academy Association, over the same article. The prosecution argued that statements made during the December 17, 2024, screening at the Sezai Karakoç Cultural Center constituted “publicly insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly, the government, and judicial bodies.”