Article 299 (Turkish Penal Code)

Article 299's prosecution have surged during Erdoğan's presidency.[1][2]

Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code is a lèse-majesté law deems it illegal to "Insult the President of Turkey". A person who is sentenced for a violation of this article can be sentenced to a prison term between one and four years and if the violation was made in public the verdict can be elevated by a sixth.[3] Prosecutions often target critics of the government, independent journalists, and political cartoonists.[4] Between 2014 and 2019, 128,872 investigations were launched for this offense and prosecutors opened 27,717 criminal cases.[5][6] Turkey's article 299 and article 125, which allows one party to sue for insult despite lack of sufficient evidence, are arguably used as part of SLAPPs.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference hrw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Erdoğan sued 38,581 people for "insulting the president" in six years". Bianet. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. ^ "The Curious Case of Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code: Insulting the Turkish President". Verfassungsblog. 2018-07-20. Archived from the original on 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  4. ^ Eko, Lyombe (2019). "The Charlie Hebdo Affair in Turkey: Balancing Human Rights and Religious Rites". The Charlie Hebdo Affair and Comparative Journalistic Cultures: Human Rights Versus Religious Rites. Springer International Publishing. p. 208. ISBN 978-3-030-18079-9.
  5. ^ "Investigation Highlights Spike in Cases of Insulting Turkish President". Balkan Insight. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Nearly 129,000 people probed for "insulting" Erdoğan in 5 years". www.duvarenglish.com. 2021-03-29. Archived from the original on 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  7. ^ Akyavas, Renan. "Analysis: Turkey's judiciary and press freedom: Farewell to a fair trial". Free Turkey Journalists. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2022-01-09.