A report prepared by two academics for the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP) has revealed that a total of 2,673 cases have been filed against individuals on charges of insulting president over the past six months.
The report was prepared by Professor Yaman Akdeniz and Associate Professor Kerem Altıparmak for IHOP, an organization which aims to contribute to the development of a civil society in Turkey for the supremacy of law and respect for human rights and freedoms.
Only in 280 cases, the judges ruled to acquit the suspects.
Since his election to presidency in August 2014, Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed insult cases against people from all walks of life including academics, journalists and even students.
In 2000, only four cases were launched against individuals on charges of insulting president while this figure rose to 1,953 in 2015. Since 1993, a total of 3,134 individuals have stood trial in Turkey on charges of insulting the president, the report said. (turkishminute.com) March 17, 2017
