Trial news July 11, 2024
The case against journalist and writer Ercan Aktaş, who was being tried for "insulting the president," has been dismissed due to the expiration of the eight-year statute of limitations.
Ercan Aktaş, whose defense was supported by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), faced charges of "insulting the president" for posts he made on Facebook and Twitter in 2015. The 22nd hearing of the case was held on July 2, 2024, at the Istanbul Küçükçekmece 15th Criminal Court of First Instance.
During the hearing, the prosecutor's office stated that the statute of limitations for the alleged crime had expired, requesting the case to be dismissed. The court confirmed that the eight-year statute of limitations had expired on June 23, 2024, and accordingly, the case against Aktaş was dismissed.
Background
Ercan Aktaş was initially investigated by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" due to his posts on Facebook. During this investigation, it was determined that some of his posts also allegedly contained insults towards the president, leading to a separate investigation. With the Ministry of Justice granting permission for prosecution, Aktaş was put on trial for his posts.
The posts cited in the indictment included:
- A February 11, 2015 post featuring a photo with the text "Kadıköy single voice: Thief Tayyip," captioned, "How quickly you forgot and lined up!"
- An image of a poster with the text "Fascist Tayyip"
- A January 14, 2015 post stating, "The children who died in Çınar, Sur, Cizre, Silopi, Nusaybin are all our children... The murderer is clear: The state/AKP/Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that says war"
- An October 4, 2015 post calling Erdoğan a "murderer"
These posts formed the basis for the charges against Aktaş, leading to the trial that has now been dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
