Turkish academic and journalist Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör has been given a suspended sentence of more than one year on conviction of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official,” the TR724 news website reported.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had previously launched an investigation into Ör due to a post on social media, leading to her detention by police for questioning.
Initially arrested by an İstanbul court on January 31, she was released pending trial at the first hearing on February 24 by the 91st Criminal Court of First Instance. At the final hearing on Tuesday, Ör and her legal team sought an acquittal, arguing that the social media post fell under protected freedom of expression.
“This ruling goes against decisions by Turkey’s Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, which recognize that critical statements fall under freedom of expression,” Ör’s lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, said. “We will appeal the ruling.”
Officials have not disclosed details of the post in question, but shortly before her detention, Ör had posted a lengthy tweet on X in which she criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leaders, accusing them of corruption, incompetence and suppression.
She described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as unqualified for office and labeled his government as unjust and negligent. She condemned ministers for failing to take responsibility for disasters, security issues and economic mismanagement, while also denouncing politicians, media figures and bureaucrats who support the government. Ör vowed that critics would not be silenced and warned that authoritarian rule would eventually end.
Turkey has frequently used its defamation laws to prosecute journalists, academics and opposition figures, sparking concern from rights groups over restrictions on free speech.
In Turkey thousands of people are investigated, prosecuted or convicted on charges of insulting the president on the basis of the controversial Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The crime carries up to four years in prison, a sentence that can be increased if the act was committed using mass media.
