Journalist Mehmet Kurnaz has been sentenced to imprisonment of 11 months and 20 days each for “insulting a public official” and “insulting the President.” The sentence was deferred for both offenses

CANSU PİŞKİN, İSTANBUL

The fifth hearing in the trial of Mehmet Emin Kurnaz, the political editor of the newspaper BirGün, on charges of “insulting a public official” and “insulting the President” was held at the İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 20 October 2022.

Kurnaz and his lawyer Ali Deniz Ceylan attended the hearing, which was monitored by P24. Kurnaz is accused of insulting Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an article entitled Çetelerin İktidarı [The Rule of the Gangs] published in BirGün on 25 May 2021. Erdoğan’s lawyer also attended the hearing.

Repeating their opinion presented at the previous hearing, the prosecutor demanded that Kurnaz be convicted of the impugned crimes. President Erdoğan’s lawyer also stated that they agreed with the opinion and demanded that Kurnaz be sentenced.

Noting that they insisted on their previous statements, Kurnaz’s lawyer Ali Deniz Ceylan stated that “The article subject to trial falls within the scope of the freedom of expression. We demand our client’s acquittal.”

The court sentenced Mehmet Kurnaz to imprisonment of 11 months and 20 days each for “insulting a public official” and “insulting the President.” The announcement was deferred for both sentences.