Charged with ‘insulting President’, actor Erkal gives his statement

* Photo: Başak Akbulut Yazar / AA

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Theater actor Genco Erkal gave his statement as part of the investigation launched against him for "insulting the President" today (April 19).

Summoned to depose as a "suspect", Genco Erkal came to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan with his attorney.

Giving his statement at the prosecutor's office, Erkal has addressed the reporters in front of the courthouse. The actor has said that he was summoned to depose over his seven social media posts, noting that "there is nothing insulting the President in his posts."

Referring to his statement at the prosecutor' office, Erkal briefly stated: "I said that my job is to perform political theater, I have been doing this job for 60 years, I am against unlawful acts, pressure, injustice and bigotry anywhere in the world and I have announced these opinion both on the stage and on social media. I said, 'I am against the Presidential system.' I said, 'I am against the restriction of freedom of expression, peoples' imprisonment because of their opinions, the destruction and concretization of nature'."

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MPs Mahmut Tanal, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Turay Aydoğan and Gülizar Emecan were also at the courthouse in solidarity and support of Genco Erkal.

What happened?

Genco Erkal made a brief statement on April 16, 2021 and announced that his social media posts since 2016 were examined, an investigation was launched against him for "insulting the President."

9,554 people penalized in 5 years

According to the 2019 statistics of the Justice Ministry dated September 2020, since ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected President of Turkey in 2014, 40 people were convicted of "insulting the President" in 2014, 238 people were convicted in 238, 884 people in 2016, 2,099 people in 2017 and 2,462 people in 2018. This number increased to 3,831 in 2019, according to the Justice Ministry data.

Taken together, in Erdoğan's term in office as the President, a total of 9,554 people were penalized for insulting him. The number of prosecutions and prison sentences also increased over the years.

According to the Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), "Any person who insults the President of the Republic shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of one to four years. Where the offence is committed in public, the sentence to be imposed shall be increased by one sixth. The initiation of a prosecution for such offence shall be subject to the permission of the Minister of Justice." (HA/SD)