A court in Istanbul has sentenced Y.K., who was prosecuted for taking part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by the group “A Thousand Youth for Palestine,” to 11 months and 20 days in prison on a charge of insulting the president.
The court ruled that the sentence would be suspended under a deferred verdict arrangement, known in Turkey as HAGB (deferment of the announcement of the verdict), meaning the conviction will not take legal effect unless the defendant commits another offense during a specified probation period.
MLSA- The fourth hearing in the case against Y.K., who is being prosecuted on a charge of insulting the president for participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by “A Thousand Youth for Palestine” on March 30, 2024, in Şişhane Square in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, was held at the Istanbul 27th Criminal Court of First Instance.
Presenting his final opinion at the hearing, the prosecutor said it had been determined that demonstrators chanted the slogan, “Murderer Erdoğan, collaborator AKP,” during the protest. He argued that the defendant had committed the offense of insulting the president by chanting the slogan.
The prosecutor requested that the defendant be convicted under Articles 299/1 and 299/2 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalize insulting the president.
“We did not chant the slogan, nor did we hear anyone else chant it”
Rejecting the prosecutor’s final opinion, the defendant reiterated his previous defense statements. He said he had attended the demonstration to express criticism and maintained that he had not chanted the slogan in question. He also said he did not recall hearing anyone else chant such a slogan. The defendant requested acquittal. If the court reached a different conclusion, he asked that provisions in his favor be applied.
The defendant’s lawyer said his client had attended the gathering to criticize trade relations with a state that he believed was continuing a genocide, and argued that there was no evidence showing that he had chanted the slogan in question.
The lawyer also contended that the expressions at issue should be considered within the bounds of legitimate criticism under the case law of Turkey’s Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, and requested his client’s acquittal.
Asked for his final remarks before the verdict, the defendant again requested acquittal.
The court ruled that it had been established that the defendant committed the offense of “publicly insulting the president” and initially sentenced him to one year in prison. The sentence was then increased to one year and two months on the grounds that the offense had been committed publicly.
After applying a discretionary reduction, the court set the final sentence at 11 months and 20 days in prison.
The court also ruled to defer the announcement of the verdict, citing the fact that the defendant had no prior conviction for an intentional offense and that it had formed the opinion that he was unlikely to reoffend. Under the ruling, the defendant will be subject to a five-year probation period.
