Secularism advocates gave statements at the prosecutor’s office: “Secularism does not incite the public; it prevents religion from being exploited for political ends”

In their statements, it was emphasised that the principle of secularism, which is also stated in the Constitution, does not incite the public to hatred or enmity; on the contrary, secularism serves the function of preventing discrimination based on religious belief.

The signatories of the “We Are Defending Secularism Together” statement continue to give statements in Istanbul.

Following a criminal complaint filed by the Ministry of National Education, which claimed that the 168-signature statement shared with the public on 17 February was “directed against the Ramadan circular”, an investigation was launched into those who signed the statement.

As part of the investigation launched in Ankara, signatories residing in Ankara were the first to give statements, followed by those residing in Istanbul. Among the signatories, the intellectual Melike Demirağ gave her statement yesterday in Bodrum.

The process of giving statements in Istanbul continued today as 12 individuals went to the Anatolia Courthouse to give their statements. Oğuzhan Müftüoğlu, Cem Eroğul, Özkan Atar, Deniz Demirdöğen, Doğu Eroğlu, Esra Kahraman, İlbay Kahraman, Özgür Gürbüz, Müfit Can Saçıntı, Fuat Sevimay, Yaşar Aydın and Yaşar Miraç Çolak gave their statements at the courthouse today.

Those who signed the “We Are Defending Secularism Together” statement emphasised in their testimonies that secularism is a principle enshrined in the Constitution, that it does not incite the public to hatred or enmity, and that, on the contrary, it serves the function of preventing faith-based divisions from turning into hatred and enmity.

MÜFTÜOĞLU: SECULARISM PREVENTS RELIGION FROM BEING USED AS A POLITICAL TOOL

Oğuzhan Müftüoğlu, BirGün writer, stated in his testimony: “The expressions and views contained in the aforementioned declaration do not constitute a crime; on the contrary, they express support for the principle of the secular state, which has been protected by the Constitution since 1928. The principle of secularism, which encompasses both freedom of belief and the separation of religion and state affairs, ensures that there is no interference in the ‘sacred relationship’ between God and humanity, whilst preventing religion from being turned into a political tool and providing a guarantee that all citizens, whether believers, non-believers or those of different faiths, can live together in peace. In this respect, contrary to the alleged charge of ‘inciting the public to hatred and hostility’, the principle of secularism serves to prevent religious and belief-based divisions from turning into hatred and hostility,” he said.

Müftüoğlu, noting that the expression of assessments claiming that the views contained in the statement or the practices of administrative authorities in Turkey harm the principle of secularism, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, falls within the scope of a series of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and international treaties, particularly freedom of thought and expression, stated: “In this context, the statements in question do not contain any defamation, nor do they contain the elements of any alleged offence. Despite the numerous rulings by the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Cassation and local courts that protect fundamental rights and freedoms and remind states of their positive obligations in this context, it is unfortunate that an investigation has been launched following a complaint in this regard,” he said.

Müftüoğlu concluded his statement by saying, “It strikes me as odd that secularism is being investigated in a country where Sultan Abdulhamid is defended. I do not accept the charges against me. I hope a decision will be made that there are no grounds for prosecution.”

ÖZKAN ATAR: EXPRESSING ONE’S THOUGHTS IS NOT A CRIME

Özkan Atar, President of the United Metal Workers’ Union, began his statement by saying: “Secularism is listed among the fundamental principles of our Republic in Article 2 of our Constitution. Furthermore, Article 4 of our Constitution stipulates that the provisions regarding the Republic’s characteristics in Article 2 cannot be amended, nor can any proposal to amend them be made,” he began.

“My aim in signing the declaration was to defend secularism, one of the fundamental characteristics of our Republic. As reflected in the public domain, this declaration contains not the slightest reference to religious values. The aim of this declaration is to state that secularism, a fundamental characteristic of our Republic, is not a crime, and to demand the application of this principle in the public sphere,” said Atar, emphasising that, according to the Constitution, expressing thoughts and opinions is not a crime.

DEMİRDÖĞEN: WE WILL CONTINUE TO STAND UP FOR SECULARISM

Deniz Demirdöğen, spokesperson for the LEFT Party, who also spoke, said the following:

“The LEFT Party defends a secular democratic order. We fight for this. Because we defend secularism, an investigation was opened against six of our members for hanging a secularism banner and sharing a secularism declaration; and as of yesterday, we learned that a case has been filed against these members at the Küçükçekmece 15th Criminal Court of First Instance. Furthermore, as a revolutionary politics that views life from the left, we believe that secularism is under threat in our country and region. For this reason, we stand up for secularism, which is guaranteed by the constitution. Secularism is not a crime, and we will continue to stand up for it.”

Noting that the views expressed in the declaration titled “We Defend Secularism Together”, which is the subject of the investigation file, do not constitute a crime, Demirdöğen said, “I request that a decision be made that there are no grounds for prosecution.”

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

In response to threats against secularism, 168 writers, including Korkut Boratav, Taner Timur, Cem Eroğul, Alaeddin Şenel, Oğuzhan Müftüoğlu, Hayri Kozanoğlu, İlhan Cihaner, Müjde Ar, Ayşe Kulin, Ahmet Telli, Melike Demirağ, Rutkay Aziz, İlkay Akkaya, Şükrü Erbaş, Onur Akın, Şenal Sarıhan, Emin Koramaz, Canan Güllü, Ahmet Karagöz and Timur Soykan, had drafted a text titled “We Are Defending Secularism Together”.

The text condemned recent attacks on secularism, emphasising that “Defending secularism is not a crime. We are defending secularism together; we reject the imposition of Sharia law!”

The statement, published on 17 February with the signatures of the initial signatories, was subsequently signed by tens of thousands of citizens online.

The statement was targeted by regime spokespeople, led by President Erdoğan of the AKP. One of those most disturbed by the statement was Education Minister Yusuf Tekin.

“We Are Defending Secularism Together” The Ministry of National Education (MEB), which linked the text to the Ramadan circular sent to schools, filed a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”, “publicly disseminating misleading information”, “insulting state institutions” and “insulting public officials in connection with their duties”.

Following this complaint, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the statement on 28 February. The signatories were first summoned to give statements in Ankara. A large number of signatories, including Marxist economics professor Korkut Boratav, gave their statements.

BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was arrested on 22 March and sent to Sincan Prison due to his reporting, was also among those who gave evidence in Ankara in connection with his signature on the text.

Following the completion of the statements in Ankara, signatories in Istanbul have also begun to be summoned for questioning in recent days.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Laiklik savunucuları savcılıkta ifade verdi: “Laiklik halkı tahrik etmez, dinin siyasete alet edilmesini engeller”, published in BirGün newspaper on April 9, 2026.