Three students at Boğaziçi University have been acquitted of charges of “insulting the president” after they were prosecuted for displaying and photographing an AI-generated image of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The image referenced the devastating earthquakes of Feb 2023, centered in Maraş, which killed more than 50,000 people across 11 provinces in Turkey's south and southeast. The visual showed Erdoğan standing in front of earthquake rubble, holding a painting of the wreckage with the caption “Masterpiece.”
The case against students Ada Gülce Canıgüz, Aslı Sunay, and Doğu Demirtaş was heard today at İstanbul’s 70th Penal Court of First Instance.
Canıgüz’s lawyer, Gamze Serin Şimşek, argued that neither the image nor the caption constituted an insult.
She noted that the legal requirement of “publicity” had not been met, saying, “My client only photographed the poster. She never shared it anywhere, nor was it made public. She cannot be punished for someone else’s actions. Simply saving the image of a poster on a device is not a crime under the penal code.”
The lawyer demanded her client’s acquittal.
Demirtaş’s lawyer, Anıl Can Aksoy, also rejected the charges, saying the elements of insult were absent. “Demirtaş has already been acquitted in a case accusing him of inciting hatred and enmity in connection with events at Boğaziçi University. All the other defendants in that case were acquitted as well. We request his acquittal here too,” he said.
After the statements, the prosecutor presented the final opinion, saying the elements of the crime had not been established and requesting acquittal.
The court ruled in favor of acquittal for all three students.
Background
On May 19, 2023, a student group called “BOUNSergi” displayed visuals at Boğaziçi University’s South Campus criticizing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) over its handling of the earthquakes.
Among them was the AI-generated image of Erdoğan before earthquake rubble, holding a painting of debris, with the words “Masterpiece.”
Police detained Canıgüz, Sunay, and Demirtaş over the visual. The students also reported being subjected to strip searches while in custody.
Nearly a year later, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted them for "insulting the president" under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. Prosecutor Hakan Aksoy accused Demirtaş of creating the image and Canıgüz and Sunay of photographing it.
In the indictment, the prosecutor argued that “placing the image of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before earthquake debris with the words ‘Masterpiece’ written on it and displaying this banner at the university was clearly an attack on the honor and dignity of the president.” (HA/VK)
