Istanbul 36th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced LeMan magazine cartoonist Doğan Pehlevan to 11 months and 20 days in prison for “insulting the President” in a case over a social media post and deferred the announcement of the verdict. Pehlevan did not attend the fifth hearing. His lawyers Bilge Batur and Samet Fidan argued that it had not been proven that the X account cited in the charge belonged to their client, that the source investigation report had been improperly prepared and that the post did not contain an insult, and sought acquittal. The prosecutor repeated the previous opinion and requested punishment under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. The court ruled that the elements of the offense had been established and imposed the prison sentence.
6 October 2026
Evrensel