A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced freelance journalist Fatih Altayli to four years and two months in prison over comments he made about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state broadcaster TRT and an NGO representing the journalist.
Altayli’s conviction comes amid a more general crackdown on opposition figures in Turkey over the past year, including most notably the jailing of Erdogan’s main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in March. Imamoglu was sentenced on corruption charges, which he denies.
Which comment by Altayli led to the prosecution?
Altayli, who has more than 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube in a country where the vast majority of the media is sympathetic to the government, was commenting on a poll that said nearly 70% of Turks opposed the idea of keeping Erdogan as president for life.
Erdogan has been president since 2014 and is in his third term, but before that he was prime minister for the next 11 years, before switching roles when Turkey’s constitution was changed to vest more powers with the presidency.
In the clip, Altayli referenced the history of the Ottoman Empire, describing how many sultans who were no longer wanted in power were killed.
“Look at the distant past: this is a nation that strangled its sultans when it didn’t like them or didn’t want them… There are many Ottoman sultans who were strangled, murdered or allegedly committed suicide,” the 63-year-old said.
Erdogan aide Oktay Saral said at the time that the comments had “gone too far.”
Verdict ‘could act as a tool’ to suppress dissent: Defense lawyer
The Istanbul court said it was sentencing the journalist for “threatening the president” and that he would remain in prison.
Aytayli denied the allegations in court, saying his statement was a historical fact. His intention was not to threaten and demand his acquittal.
His lawyer, Union of Turkish Bar Associations head Erink Sagkan, said Aytayli would appeal an “unlawful” verdict that violated fundamental freedoms.
Sagkan told reporters outside the court that the verdict “is a threat against the entire press and could serve as a tool to suppress all dissenting voices.”
Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the decision.
“The heavy sentence given to Aytayli over statements taken out of context, as well as the decision to keep him in detention, sends an intimidating, undemocratic and unacceptable message,” RSF’s Turkish representative Erol Onderoglu told AFP news agency.
Erdogan’s legacy of prosecuting speech and dissent
Turkey, a wealthy NATO member, is ranked 159th out of 180 assessed countries on RSF’s 2024 Press Freedom Index, just behind Pakistan and ahead of Venezuela. NGOs say the country has arrested 20 journalists for doing their work this year, three of whom are still in custody and another three under house arrest awaiting trial.
“After the 2023 elections, violence and mass arrests became the most commonly used tactics to suppress media professionals covering rallies and protests,” RSF wrote in its report on Turkey, “combined with almost systematic online censorship, arbitrary prosecutions against critical media outlets, and exploitation of the judicial system.”
The litigious approach of Erdogan and his allies has also made headlines in recent years for their zealous prosecution of alleged violations of Article 299 of the Turkish Constitution, which prohibits “insulting the president.” For alleged insults he pursued all kinds of people inside and outside Turkey, including even the German satirical comedian Jan Böhmermann. This year a Swedish journalist was given an 11-month suspended sentence, but was allowed to leave the country soon afterwards.
The European Court of Human Rights, to which EU-aspirant Turkey is a party, has repeatedly found that Article 299 cannot co-exist with Turkey’s constitutional guarantee of free expression and needs amendment.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez