Popular Turkish actor probed over president's insult

 

As part of a sustained brutal campaign against freedom of expression, Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into legendary Turkish actor Genco Erkal, 83, for “insulting the president” through his social media posts.

After giving his testimony at the Istanbul Courthouse, the actor told reporters that he was facing an investigation over his seven social media posts, although there was no “element of insulting against the president” in his posts.

In his Twitter posts, Erkal criticized the wrongdoings of the government and highlighted social problems.

“I have said, 'I am against the presidential system.' I said, 'I am against the limitation of freedom of expression, the imprisonment of people because of their thoughts, the massacre and concretion of nature,” Erkal told reporters.

Insulting the president” has become a widespread excuse for launching investigations against prominent popular figures, with several top actors and musicians being investigated despite their age and even schoolchildren, have been prosecuted for alleged insults to Erdogan.

Between 2014 and 2019, Turkish authorities launched 128,872 investigations into insults against Erdogan, and Turkish courts sentenced 9,556 of those charged with insulting the president, including politicians, journalists, actors, elder people and even children.