Betül Alpay, a Turkish lawyer, is facing a defamation trial after publicly claiming she was subjected to an unlawful strip-search in a prison, the Kronos news website reported on Thursday.
Alpay shared a video in 2020 in which she described how she was strip-searched by female guards upon entering Mu?la Prison. Her account had come in response to remarks by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Özlem Zengin, who denied the carrying out of strip searches in Turkey, calling such claims “unbelievable.”
In the 24-page indictment filed in July 2024, prison guards who conducted the search denied Alpay’s allegations, claiming a “detailed search” was conducted without direct contact or requiring her to undress completely. The guards said Alpay’s social media posts, which led to an investigation into their conduct, were defamatory. Alpay maintains that her claims are true and says she was not informed of the case until it had already been filed.
“I did not give a false account of what happened to me,” Alpay said. “I was not even asked to give my testimony before the indictment was issued, which is a violation of my right to a fair trial.”
Alpay was sentenced to four years in prison for alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement in 2017. In 2020 she relocated to Germany.
President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since the corruption investigations of 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdo?an, his family members and his inner circle.
Turkey: Lawyer faces defamation trial after strip-search claim
