Turkish Ministry of Justice did not announce 2018 statistics, whereas according to the data shared by the Ministry until 2017 reveal an increase in the number of total defendants and convictions issued related to “insulting the President” by 13 times under the three-year duty period of Erdoğan. According to the official data compiled by dogrulukpayi.com, there were 1,553 defendants on trial in accordance with Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code between the years 1986 and 2014; whereas there were 13,899 in 2017. Therefore, 12,173 citizens stood trial due to “insulting Erdoğan” only in three years. Furthermore, 3,221 of the 3,607 people convicted due to “insulting the President” between the years 1994 and 2017 received their convictions during Erdoğan’s Presidency.
29.04.2019
gazeteduvar.com.tr