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In Ereğli district in Turkey's Black Sea province of Zonguldak, a citizen named A.Ç. was first taken into custody for throwing the photo of President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the ground. A.Ç. has been arrested afterwards.
As reported by Ereğli Demokrat Media local news website, the incident happened on Friday (December 10). The citizen came to the Sub-Governor's Office and threw the picture of Erdoğan hung on the entrance of the building to the ground. The police teams arrived at the scene of the incident, took the citizen into custody and took her/him to the security directorate.
With the related procedures completed and referred to the courthouse in the afternoon hours yesterday (December 12),
A.Ç. was then referred to the court with a request for arrest. A.Ç. has been arrested by the court board on charge of "insulting the President" and sent to the Beycuma Prison in the same province.
NOTE: According to a report released by the Lawyers for Justice Association regarding the state of freedom of expression in Turkey during the Presidency of ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 420,424 investigations were launched and 180,822 criminal cases were filed on eight different charges pertaining to freedom of expression from 2014 to 2020; 211,523 people were put on trial. The report has shown that the number of investigations launched in Erdoğan's first term in office (2015-2017) hit 66,009 (a 35-fold increase) while the number of court cases hit 12,173 (a 30-fold increase).
Trials for 'insulting the President' in Turkey
Since 2014, when Erdoğan was elected the President, investigations have been launched against over 160 thousand people for "insulting the President". More than 35 thousand turned into court cases.
In these trials, over 28 thousand people and more than a thousand children appeared before the judge. The number of cases during Erdoğan's first 4-year term in office increased by 19.5 times and by 2,052 percent when compared to the term of former President Abdullah Gül.
In the trials, 12 thousand 881 people have been convicted, 3 thousand 625 people, including 10 children, have been sentenced to prison.
In 2020 alone, 45 thousand investigations were launched against people on charge of "insulting the President" and lawsuits were filed against 9 thousand 773 people as a result of these investigations.
From August 2014, when Erdoğan was elected the President, to October 1, 2021, at least 66 journalists were given prison sentences, deferred prison sentences and/or fines for "insulting the President".
According to the BİA Media Monitoring Report covering the period of July - August - September, 17 journalists and cartoonists faced up to 84 years in prison in total for "insulting the President" in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
Insulting the President (TCK 299)
A person convicted of "insulting the President" as per the Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) is sentenced to 1 year to 4 years in prison. If the offense is committed publicly, the sentence is increased by one sixth. Prosecution on this charge is subject to the permission of the Justice Ministry. However, it is regarded as a formality and it is not known, according to the reports, whether there is any person for whom no permission has been granted by the Ministry to be prosecuted on this charge. (RT/SD)
