In an operation targeting the criminal organization named C31K, which was assessed to have made crime-related posts on platforms including Telegram, Discord, X and YouTube, as well as posts concerning preparations for armed attacks on three schools in three different provinces at the start of the new academic year, an operation was conducted under an investigation coordinated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Detention orders were issued for 32 suspects identified as being linked to the organization, 19 of them children subject to judicial proceedings. In the simultaneous operation conducted in 22 provinces, centered in Ankara, 27 suspects were apprehended. The investigation examined the dissemination of obscene images of children, insults against national and spiritual values, the burning of the Turkish flag, and the sharing of footage showing cruelty to and the killing of animals. It was stated that the suspects had disseminated content containing violence, threats, blackmail and insults, and had exploited the disappearances of well-known people by making false reports to their families’ addresses. Digital materials were seized.
Why it matters
The case shows that content produced or circulated on online platforms can become the subject of an investigation not only as a form of expression, but also in relation to children’s safety, threats around schools and attacks on individuals’ reputations. The fact that the investigation covers multiple platforms and provinces indicates that links between different digital channels and how content is disseminated are significant in the judicial process. The seized digital materials form the basis for assessments of who produced the posts, how they were coordinated and whether there were actual preparations for an attack. The status of the suspects who have not been apprehended and what legal action will be taken for which acts at the end of the investigation remain unresolved issues.