Assaulted Journalist Yavuz Selim Demirağ to be Imprisoned for Insulting Erdoğan

* İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener visited Demirağ at hospital

Click to read the article in Turkish

Daily Yeniçağ columnist and Türkiyem TV program producer Yavuz Selim Demirağ, who was assaulted in front of his house on May 10, 2019, will be sent to prison today for having allegedly insulted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2010, when he was the Prime Minister of Turkey.

Penning an article for Yeniçağ entitled "Prisoner's Bag" (Mahpus Çantası), Demirağ announced that he will be imprisoned today (June 13) to serve his prison term of 11 months and 20 days.

'While you are reading these lines...'

Some highlights from Demirağ's article are as follows:

"While you are reading these lines, I will have entered prison, taking my back waiting ready behind the door.

"My offense is 'insulting the President.' I have written that before. The indictment prepared with the plot of police officers rom the FETÖ* and the tape of the speech text were not delivered to me. The non-edited video was not screened. The verdict was given in my absence. The judge did not even listen. The deposition taken by instruction was deemed enough by the judge.

"And the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict without taking any other actions. In short, the prison term of 11 months and 20 days will be executed. There are also numerous other ongoing cases.

'Hope for days when trust in justice is restored...'

"More than 250 thousand people are behind bars. There are our journalists friends among them. I am a bit luckier. Known days pass faster. At least, I will not be restricted. I will continue reading and writing. Prisons have rules.

"You cannot just put everything in your bag and take it to prison. They check even your books one by one and you can take you books, if they are not found 'objectionable'. More than five books are forbidden.

"I will continue writing from inside as soon as possible. Hope for the days when rule of law is established and trust in justice is restored... With love..."

What happened?

A lawsuit was filed against journalist Yavuz Selim Demirağ on the allegation that he insulted Prime Minister of the time Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a speech that he made in Nazilli, Aydın on March 30, 2010. Demirağ was charged with "insulting the public official due to his or her duty."

The Nazilli 4th Penal Court of First Instance pronounced its verdict on January 15, 2018, sentencing the journalist 11 months and 20 days in prison. After the 12th Penal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice, the court of appeal, upheld his prison sentence, Demirağ was imprisoned in Ayaş Prison in Ankara on June 13, 2019.

* Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, which is held responsible for the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

(PT/SD)