Street artist given deferred prison sentence for insulting president

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A street artist nicknamed "İzinsiz" (Turkish for unpermitted) stood trial for "openly degrading the Turkish flag" and "insulting the president" because of a mural.

The İstanbul 20th Penal Court of First Instance acquitted the street artist for degrading the flag, MLSA Turkey reported.

However, the court sentenced İzinsiz to 1 year, 2 months and 27 days in prison for "insulting the president" because of the works they shared on social media before 2019. It deferred the announcement of the verdict.

The court also ruled that an attorney of the president, who took part in the case as a constituent, should be paid 5,100 lira.

Özcan Karakoç, the attorney of the street artist, said the investigation had been launched because of the mural in Kabataş, and the charge of "insulting the president" had been unlawfully added to the case later.

The police added the works that İzinsiz shared on their private social media account to the investigation file, he said. Citing Venice Commission and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions about insulting the president, he demanded the acquittal of his client.

İzinsiz said, "I am a street artist. An artist, by nature, is the person who criticizes, regardless of who is in power. I do work that focuses on social awareness. I didn't commit a crime, I didn't intend to insult."

What happened?

In February 2020, İzinsiz altered a painting by artist Devrim Erbil that was exhibited on a billboard in Kabataş, İstanbul, by drawing a silhouette hanging from the crescent and the star in the painting.

After several media outlets reported it as "provocation," five people were detained over the incident, and İzinsiz was arrested. They were released after spending some time in Silivri Prison.

A case was filed because of the mural and İzinsiz's social media posts for "degrading the symbols of state sovereignty" as per article 300 of the Turkish Penal Code, and "insulting the president" as per article 299. (HA/VK)