FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND CRITICISM

The Bakırköy Public Prosecutor's Office filed a criminal complaint against cartoonist Halil İbrahim Özdabak from Yeni Asya newspaper. Özdabak had drawn a cartoon regarding Sincan 1st High Criminal Court president Osman Kaçmaz who intends to sue president Abdullah Gül.

The caricature on question was published in the Yeni Asya newspaper issue from 21 May 2009. It shows a person in a judge's robe on a podium positioned on a tank, ignoring the road sign to "Ergen" but instead following the sign to "Sincan Avenue".

Illustrator Özdabak is prosecuted under charges of article 125 of the Turkish Crimial Code (TCK) concerned with defamation. The indictment issued on 18 August 2009 is signed by Public Prosecutor Ali Çakır.

Prosecutor Ali Çakır on duty...

Çakır had previously prepared an indictment on "influencing the judiciary" against Milliyet and Radikal newspapers for criticizing the cancellation of the Ottoman Armenian Conference. Furthermore, the prosecutor filed a complaint against artist Bülent Ersoy for "alienating the public from military service" and lately launched an investigation against artist Hülyar Avşar.

Özdabak before the court in January

Özdabak's trial is going to start at the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 2nd High Criminal Court on 30 January next year. The cartoonist is facing a 2 years 8 months prison sentence under charges of "insulting a public official performing a public service in the press". Judge Osman Kaçamaz is mentioned as a complainant in the indictment. The cartoon criticizes a decision taken by the judge on 15 May.

The indictment includes the following accusations:

"... Ridiculing the decision of the complainant High Criminal Court President; depicting him in his robe on a podium positioned on a military tank; road signs of Sincan Avenue and Ergenekon Avenue; addition of a written comment; defaming previous decisions with the caricature; unlawful use of rights and freedoms defined by the Turkish Constitution; surpassing of the press' audit privilege, targeting a person and a profession with the result of hatred and rage against a decision taken by the complainant when performing his duty; insulting a personal right, freedom and the honor and dignity of a profession with such a depiction"

Öydabak was also tried for illustrating Supreme Court Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, who filed a closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and was depicted in the caricature as an owl in a judge's robe. The cartoonist was acquitted on 24 March. (EÖ/VK)