The prosecutor asked the court to acquit stage actor Genco Erkal, who stood trial due to three social media posts he shared in 2016 and 2020

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

The third hearing in the trial of renowned theater actor Genco Erkal on the charge of “insulting the president” under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) over three social media posts he shared on Twitter in 2016 and 2020 was held on 14 April 2022 at the İstanbul 16th Criminal Court of First Instance.

P24 monitored the hearing, attended by 83-year-old Erkal and his lawyers. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer, whose request to join the case was previously accepted, was in attendance. Erkal’s artist friends were also among spectators.

The prosecutor asks for Erkal’s acquittal

During the hearing, the trial prosecutor submitted their final opinion on the case, and asked the court to acquit Genco Erkal on the grounds that the veteran actor’s social media posts were political and critical in nature without any intent to insult and that the elements of the impugned crime did not exist.

In their opinion, the prosecutor asserted that it was only to be expected that Erkal, a theater artist, made political posts, citing Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution (freedom of expression and dissemination of thought) and the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

President Erdoğan’s lawyer, on the other hand, asked the court to punish Erkal, arguing that his social media posts concerning the presidential system and the President’s educational background were shared with intent to insult.

In the social media posts at issue, Erkal wrote, “Instead of meddling with whether a family should have children or not, reveal your diploma so that we can see it. Even if it is from your rector friend, even if it is fake, let us see it”; “The presidential system does not cut it. Let it be Turkish-style shepherding system,” and “Erdoğan: ‘We aim to complete the work on Ayder Plateau by 2022.’ Alas, he has decided to finish off the lovely natural wonder that is Ayder Plateau. Wherever he touches, he turns it into concrete and dries it up.”

“Over 38 thousand lawsuits on charge of insulting the president in 7 years”

In his defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, Erkal said, “I agree with the prosecutor’s opinion. The posts in question are critical; they do not contain any insults. It is rather gratifying that the prosecution accepts this. The diploma issue has been discussed for years; I am not the only one saying this.”

“As for the shepherding comment, the President himself says, ‘I, too, am a shepherd.’ There cannot be any insult in that,” stated Erkal, who asked for his acquittal. 

Turgut Kazan, Erkal’s lawyer, addressed the court next and asked the court panel to acquit the actor in line with the prosecutor’s final opinion. Asserting that “insulting the president” cases have been instrumentalized to pressure dissidents in Turkey, Kazan said, “In France, two criminal lawsuits have been filed for this crime. In Turkey, however, there have been 169 thousand investigations and 38 thousand 608 lawsuits [on the same charge] in just 7 years.”

Announcing its decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to acquit Genco Erkal of the “insulting the president” charge on the grounds that the elements of the impugned crime did not exist.

The indictment was issued by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office based on a 2016 complaint against Genco Erkal, which was ignored by the authorities for five years.

The first hearing in the trial was held on 25 November 2021. The second hearing of the trial was scheduled to take place on 11 March 2022, but was postponed due to snow and bad weather.