Freedom of Expression

On 31 July, the Bursa 2nd Children's Court sentenced 17-year-old O.K. to "insulting a civil servant on duty", i.e. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, fur using the slogan "Your are the lightbulb, Tayyip" in reference to the PM's party's emblem of a lightbulb, as well as the slogan "First religious, then liberal, selling education".

O.K. had been with other students and teachers protesting against the central university exam (ÖSS) and the government's education policies. Because of his age, the Bursa 4th Criminal Court of Peace separated his case from that of the others on 20 August 2008 and sent it to the children's court.

O.K. has now been sentenced to carrying out work for the public good for 3 months and 26 days.

He was first sentenced to 7 months and 23 days imprisonment, but because of his age, lack of previous convictions and the fact that he worked with computers and design, he was sentenced to working for a institution serving the public.

"Dangerous precedent"

The court evaluated the slogans recorded by the police as a crime. O.K.'s lawyer Fırat Gündoğan told bianet that they appealed against the sentence the same day. "We hope to get a positive result at the Supreme Court of Appeals. Otherwise, there may be hundreds of court cases against protesters in Bursa on Labour Day or other demonstrations. The trend seems that way, which is worrying."

Same slogan, no conviction

On 17 June, the Bursa 1st Criminal Court of Peace had acquitted eight members of the People's Houses and trade unionists, who had expressed their protest against university fees at a press conference and had shouted the slogan "Lightbulb Tayyip".

The court had decreed that Murat Şenol, Hüseyin Sevgi, Mehmet Emre Battal, Taylan Uztürk, İbrahim Koyucular, Pınar Koyuncular, Ahmet Keskin and Onural Keskin did not commit a crime.  (EÖ/AG)