Suspected Erdoğan offender faces 2-year sentence

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish prosecutor has demanded a two-year sentence for a man who is suspected of insulting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek and several ministers and deputies on Facebook, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Prime Ministry Communications Center (BİMER) was tipped off by an e-mail informing the center that the suspect insulted Turkish prime ministers and other officials on his Facebook page. Ankara Public Prosecutor Adem Can has demanded a two-year sentence for the suspect in an indictment he prepared, where he accuses the suspect of “insulting through audio, written or visual expressions.”

The investigation conducted by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office detected the IP address of a computer that logged onto the Facebook page on which the suspect is accused of having insulted Turkish officials. Police searched the home of the suspect. The indictment says police found evidence on the suspect's computer of the crime's he is accused of.

In his defense, the suspect said he was forced to commit the act by what he says was the “provocation of his friends,” and he thought the “rude expressions” he used would remain between them and that he had no “malicious intention” in doing so. He expressed regret for his acts.

The 7th Ankara Criminal Court of Peace will hear the case.