Stage actor Genco Erkal appears before court in 'insulting President' case

Tanrıkulu, Kaftancıoğlu and Erkal from left to right. (Photo: Gül Gündüz/Halk TV)

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Stage actor Genco Erkal, 83, appeared before the court today (November 25) in the case filed for "insulting the president" because of his Twitter posts.

Erkal attended the hearing at the İstanbul 16th Penal Court of First Instance with his daughter and grandchild.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu and İstanbul Provincial Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu, Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) deputy Ahmet Şık and composer Fazıl Say also followed the hearing.

The judge ordered everyone to be removed from the courtroom except for the defendant, his attorneys and one journalist due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Erkal's attorney Turgut Kazan objected to the order, saying, "We demanded a big courtroom from you, stating that [the situation] would be like this."

MP Ahmet Şık said, "If you want to give a healthy verdict, you must acquit [Erkal] without a trial. Law is discussed in courtrooms, not health."

The judge then ordered the door of the courtroom to remain open for journalists and other people to follow the hearing.

"I can't understand"

Making his defense, Erkal said there was no insult in his tweets. "Let me start with the post about the Ayder Plateau. This government does not quite get on well with nature. Its love for construction and concrete surpasses its love for nature.

"The Ayder Plateau has lost its natural plateau characteristics. My statement that 'Everything he touches dries up and turns into concrete' is an evaluation, not an insult.

"My post about Erdoğan's diploma... A committee considered a request for the disclosure of the diploma within the scope of 'privacy.' None of our presidents' diplomas had been a subject of debate before ... I'm saying, 'Let's see this diploma.' There is a humorous expression in this tweet. Frankly, I don't understand how it can be considered an insult."

Also referring to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) verdict in the Vedat Şorli case, Erkal said, "The ECtHR does not accept a crime such as 'insulting the president'."

Erdoğan's attorney

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's attorney Emine Nur Çakır asserted that Erkal's statements exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and dissemination of thoughts by failing to make criticism over facts.

"It is clear that there is an insult in the tweets in question," she said. "My client's personal rights have been violated with the shepherd analogy."

The court ruled that the case file should be sent to the prosecutor for the opinion as to the accusations to be prepared.

The next hearing will take place on March 11, 2022. (HA/VK)