Journalist Gökay Başcan convicted over article about high judicial member's visit to Erdoğan

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Gökay Başcan, an editor for the daily BirGün, has been sentenced to 23 months and 10 days in prison over allegations of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a member of the Court of Cassation.

The trial took place at İstanbul's 2nd Penal Court of First Instance, where Başcan faced charges of "insulting a public official" and "insulting the president." The accusations stemmed from an article published in BirGün's edition on January 15, 2021, focusing on judicial independence.

In the article, Başcan included a photograph of Yüksel Kocaman, a former Chief Public Prosecutor of Ankara and current Court of Cassation member, visiting President Erdoğan after his wedding. The article stated, "Kocaman was appointed to the Court of Cassation shortly after his wedding."

The publication of the photo and its accompanying remarks led to legal proceedings against Başcan, as well as BirGün's board chair, İbrahim Aydın, and managing editor, Mustafa Kömüş.

During the trial, Aydın and Kömüş were acquitted of all charges. However, Başcan was found guilty of insulting the president and a public official, resulting in a prison sentence of 23 months and 10 days. The court decided to defer the announcement of the sentence.

Following the verdict, DİSK Basın-İş, a press workers' union, expressed their strong reaction to the prison sentence given to Başcan. "Turkey's second century has started with prison sentences for journalists. We will continue to stand in the same place, by the truth, no matter the cost."

More than 70 journalists have received sentences for "insulting the president" since Erdoğan's election in 2014, according to bianet Media Monitoring Reports.

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(HA/VK)