The trial of artist İlyas Salman, charged with "insulting the president" based on his comments in an interview, has been transferred to the High Criminal Court for consideration of a request to disqualify the judge.
During the third session of İlyas Salman's trial, stemming from his statements in a Birgün newspaper interview published on August 1, 2022, where he expressed, "I do not deem Erdoğan worthy of that seat," the Istanbul 2nd Civil Court of First Instance reviewed the case.
Salman was absent, but his attorney, Hüseyin Uğur Poyraz, attended. Poyraz, who had previously sought the judge's disqualification, had filed a related petition on January 31, 2024. He requested the transfer of the case to the High Criminal Court for consideration of this issue.
President Erdoğan's attorney, Erem Gençer, also advocated for transferring the case to the High Criminal Court.
The court decided to forward the case to the High Criminal Court to assess the judge disqualification request and postponed the hearing to May 14.
