Turkey issues arrest warrant for Armenian journalist Hayko BagdatApril 2, 2018 - 14:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An arrest warrant has been issued for exiled Turkish-Armenian journalist Hayko Bagdat "for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan", Turkey Purge reports. Ahval reported on March 30 that a Turkish court issued the warrant in absentia since Bagdat failed to show up for his trial over a column he wrote back in 2015. Bagdat, in his column, wrote that Erdogan targeted journalists as “traitors,” and “collaborators of foreigners.” Bagdat currently lives in self-exile in Berlin as hundreds of his colleagues have been jailed in Turkey very recently. “Due to some assassination rumors, I have been living under heavy protection in Germany,” Bagdat told media. Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey, according to Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Whoever insults the president can face up to four years in prison, a sentence that can be increased if the crime is committed through the mass media. A total of 1,080 people were convicted of insulting Erdogan in 2016, according to data from Turkey’s Justice Ministry. Data also showed that 4,936 cases were launched against people on charges of insult in 2016. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |