Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A court in Turkey has fined a netizen over GBP 500 for slander for calling President Erdogan “a Jew” in a move that is said to have left him feeling “humiliated”, according to the leader’s lawyer.
The court sided with the president’s lawyer despite the defendant’s lawyer saying that being called a Jew is not an insult, as Jews are “honourable citizens of this country”.
The court in the north-western Turkish province of Bursa handed Yuksel Ustun a fine of TRY 7,000 (GBP 536) for ‘insulting’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the news site DW.
The court issued the fine for a comment made by Ustun online describing the President as “a Jew who disguises himself as a Muslim”, according to DW.
The comment was made in 2020 on Facebook, and Erdogan’s lawyer, Huseyin Aydan, filed a legal complaint based on the fact that it had “humiliated” the Turkish leader.
Aydan claimed that Ustun used “offensive remarks towards the president’s honour, dignity and reputation.”
During the final court session on 4th November, Ustun’s lawyer Baran Gunes defended his client by stating that being called Jewish is not an insult, as Jews are “honourable citizens of this country.”
He added: “Calling someone a Jew or gypsy is not a crime.”
The court ruled in favour of Erdogan’s lawyer and initially planned to hand the defendant a 10-month prison sentence but eventually settled on issuing a fine of TRY 7,000 (GBP 536).
According to Trading Economics, the minimum monthly gross wage in Turkey is TRY 3,960 (GBP 303) meaning the fine is almost double the average monthly income of a Turkish citizen.
The news site Duvar reports that legal proceedings have been opened against thousands of people for “insulting” Erdogan since 2014.
In October, the Turkish lawyer Sedat Ata was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days for insulting Erdogan despite the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that the sentence amounted to a violation of human rights.
The ECHR added that Article 299 of the Turkish penal code, which criminalises “insulting the president” stands in direct violation of freedom of expression.
It is not clear if Ustun plans to appeal the ruling.
