- Journalist Hakkı Boltan was sentenced to 1 year, 2 months and 17 days in prison on charges of “insulting the president.” The court did not apply a suspension of the verdict (HAGB).
- The defense said the remarks were within the scope of freedom of expression, while lawyers said they will appeal the ruling.
Medine Mamedoğlu
Diyarbakır - The 10th hearing in the case filed against journalist Hakkı Boltan on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official” was held at the Diyarbakır 12th Criminal Court of First Instance.
While Boltan did not attend the hearing, his lawyer Resul Temur was present. The prosecution, presenting its final opinion to the court, requested that Boltan be punished.
Responding to the opinion, Resul Temur said in his defense statement: “At the time the statement was made, my client was the head of the Journalists’ Association. At that time, a journalist named Rohat Aktaş had lost his life during events in Cizre. In response, many journalists from both Istanbul and Ankara came to Diyarbakır and made a protest statement here. Hakkı Boltan, both because he is a journalist and because he knew Rohat Aktaş closely, made the statements that are the subject of this trial. He expressed them entirely as criticism within the scope of freedom of thought and expression, and there was absolutely no intent to insult.”
Temur requested his client’s acquittal.
After the defense statements, the court issued its ruling, finding the offense proven and sentencing Boltan to 1 year, 2 months and 17 days in prison for “insulting the president.” The court did not apply HAGB. Lawyers said they will appeal the decision.
