An İstanbul court has rejected an indictment against fashion designer Barbaros Şansal which sought a jail term of up to three years for him on the grounds that the evidence presented in the indictment lacks credibility and accuracy.
The İstanbul 43rd Penal Court of First Instance turned down the indictment on Monday, according to a Twitter message from Şansal’s lawyer Efkan Bolaç.
Şansal was facing charges of incitement of hatred and hostility.
The fashion designer was arrested in early January upon his return from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) after he was deported by Lefkoşa authorities over reactions to a video he filmed.
In the video, which sparked outrage in Turkey, Şansal uses slang while criticizing several scandals that took place throughout 2016 in an effort to emphasize that there was no reason to celebrate the new year.
Şansal was attacked by a group of passengers at the airport in İstanbul upon his return to Turkey. He was subsequently detained and then arrested.
In the video he shared, Şansal says he will drink a lot in Lefkoşa and later move to Nicosia to drink more, after enumerating harsh criticisms about corruption, rape, bribery and bigotry in Turkey. He finishes his video with the words: “Drown in your shit, Turkey.” (turkishminute.com)
