Medical doctor Bilgin Çiftçi, who was dismissed from his duty due to sharing a visual depicting a resemblance between Erdoğan and the character “Smeagol/Gollum” from the Lord of the Rings, was reassigned to his duty with a decree issued by the Court of Appeals.
A judicial and administrative investigation had been opened in 2014 against Çiftçi, who was working at Aydın Dalaman Family Health Center, with the allegation that he insulted Erdoğan with his post. The lawsuit filed against him due to ‘insulting public officer’ was concluded with acquittal and the administrative investigation concluded with a verdict of dismissal.
As the lawsuit Çiftçi filed for the reversal of action was denied by the local administrative court, 6th Criminal Chamber of İzmir Regional Court referred to the precedents of the European Court of Human rights and reversed the local court decree. The Court of Appeals further issued that the initial decree is an intervention against freedom of expression.
03.07.2018
evrensel.net