Şendoğan Yazıcı, a conscientious objector in Turkey, was sentenced to five months and 18 days in prison for a social media post in which he declared his refusal to “take orders to kill and be killed”.
The sentence was handed down by the Borçka Criminal Court of First Instance after Yazıcı was charged with “inciting the public to disobey the law” over a post from 25 November 2022.
Yazıcı’s post, in which he shared a military notice labelling him as a draft dodger, stated, “I have refused to join your gang of murderers, to be part of your chain of command, and to take orders to kill and be killed for 12 years. As long as there is breath in this body, I will continue to refuse.” Following the post, he was brought to trial and sentenced on 20 August 2024.
Speaking to Mezopotamya Agency’s Tolga Güney on Friday, Yazıcı criticised the state for failing to legislate on conscientious objection, despite its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights, which it signed in 2006. “The state avoids creating a legal framework for conscientious objection and instead resorts to such tactics to intimidate people like us by labelling us as draft dodgers,” he said.
Yazıcı, who has faced 15 lawsuits and a 36,500 lira (1,071 USD) fine for similar actions, remains defiant. “I stand by my words,” he stated. “I am a conscientious objector, and I want others to defend this idea. Currently, there are around 400 conscientious objectors in Turkey, and I want that number to grow to 40,000. What I am doing is not ‘inciting people to lawlessness’ but advocating for my beliefs and encouraging others to act accordingly.”
Yazıcı has announced his intention to appeal the prison sentence in a higher court, maintaining his commitment to conscientious objection and pushing for greater legal recognition of the right in Turkey.
