Turkish prosecutors have opened an investigation into veteran journalist Ertuğrul Özkök over remarks authorities say may have insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during an online political discussion, the Bold Medya news website reported.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation was launched following comments Özkök made on journalist Bahar Feyzan’s YouTube program. Prosecutors did not specify which statements they considered potentially criminal, and no indictment has been announced.
During the program Özkök argued that Turkey’s current political system had been constructed around Erdoğan and could not continue indefinitely in its present form. He referred to his experience as a student in Spain during the final years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship while discussing how political eras centered on individual leaders eventually end.
“These periods will pass,” Özkök said, adding that he did not believe another politician could sustain the system in its current form after Erdoğan.
Özkök also urged Erdoğan and other political leaders to consider Turkey’s long-term future. He said Erdoğan would be more likely to win another election if Turkey strengthened its justice system and human rights protections, appointed public officials based on qualifications rather than political loyalty and expanded media freedom.
Ömer Çelik, a spokesperson for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), condemned the remarks, saying Erdoğan had repeatedly assumed office through democratic elections. Çelik described the reference to Franco as devoid of reason and judgment.
Özkök was outside Turkey when the investigation was announced, prompting some pro-government commentators to suggest he had left the country because of the case. Özkök said through Feyzan that he was attending the Bayreuth music festival in Germany and already had a return ticket to Turkey.
Özkök, one of Turkey’s best-known journalists, currently writes for the 10Haber news outlet. He previously served for about two decades as editor-in-chief of Hürriyet, once one of the country’s most influential newspapers.
Under Article 299 of Turkey’s penal code, insulting the president carries a sentence of one to four years in prison. The sentence can be increased by one-sixth when the alleged offense is committed through the media. Thousands of people in Turkey have been investigated, prosecuted or convicted under the provision.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2021 that Turkey’s use of the law violated freedom of expression, saying heads of state should not receive special protection from criticism under criminal insult provisions. Turkish authorities have continued to prosecute journalists, opposition politicians and other government critics under the law.
