Incident Information
Date of incident: January 7, 2023
Location of incident: Edirne, Turkey
Identifying information of perpetrator: Orhan Aydın (@hallederiztamam and @FetoGercekleri)
Source: https://twitter.com/FetoGercekleri/status/1611736755983482882, https://twitter.com/hallederiztamam/status/1612029940882341888
Hate Speech Analysis
Transcription of hate speech statement: "In Edirne, the driver of a car carrying police officers dismissed from FETÖ[1] did not obey the police's "Stop!" warning and opened fire. As a result of the shooting, Sedat Türkmen, a FETÖ member who was trying to escape to Greece, was destroyed."
Target group(s) of hate speech: Sedat Türkmen and members of the Gülen movement
Justification of hate speech: The term "FETÖ" is often used by the Turkish government and its supporters to describe the Gülen movement, which is a religious and social organization. The government has labelled the movement as a terrorist organization and has accused it of being behind the attempted coup in 2016. However, the use of the term "FETÖ" to describe the Gülen movement is considered hate speech because it demonizes, stigmatizes and dehumanizes the members of the Gülen movement. It implies that the members of the Gülen movement are not legitimate and that they are a monolithic and secretive organization with a hierarchical structure that is engaged in terrorist activities.
Analysis of the hate speech statement: The statement uses the word "destroyed" to describe the death of Sedat Türkmen, a former police officer and alleged member of the Gülen movement. This language is dehumanizing and implies that Sedat Türkmen's death is insignificant. The statement implies that Sedat Türkmen is a "FETÖ member" which is considered as hate speech as it is demonizing, dehumanizing, and stigmatizing towards Sedat Türkmen and implies that he is a member of a criminal and violent organization.
Contextual information: The statement was made in support to the killing of Sedat Türkmen, a former police officer and alleged member of the Gülen movement.
Impact of the statement: It can contribute to further dehumanization and stigmatization of Sedat Türkmen, and can also fuel discrimination and violence against members of the Gülen movement.
Responses to the statement: The statement has been heavily criticized for using hate speech against Sedat Türkmen.
Conclusion
The statement made by FETÖ Gerçekleri (@FetoGercekleri) and Orhan Aydın (@hallederiztamam) can be considered as hate speech as it is dehumanizing and implies that Sedat Türkmen's death is insignificant. The statement also implies that Sedat Türkmen is a "FETÖ member" which is considered as hate speech as it is demonizing, dehumanizing, and stigmatizing towards Sedat Türkmen and implies that he is a member of a criminal and violent organization. Additionally, the statement is not providing a full context of the event which could be considered as a biased and misleading information.
[1] FETÖ is a derogatory term that the Turkish government coined to refer to the faith-based Gülen movement, which it deems a terrorist group responsible for a failed military coup in July 2016. Its US-based leader, Fethullah Gülen, denies any involvement in the putsch. The European Union and the United States have refused to adopt Turkey’s views on the group.