Cartoonists fined for insulting Erdogan
26 March 2015 6:48 AM IST
A Turkish court has fined two leading cartoonists after convicting them of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a caricature referring to the increasingly tough environment for journalists in the country.
Ozer Aydogan and Bahadir Baruter from the weekly satirical magazine Penguen were each initially sentenced to 11 months in prison by a criminal court in Istanbul yesterday. However the judges converted the jail terms to a fine of 7,000 lira ($2,700) each, and the two men have not been detained, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Wednesday. The two were not present at the hearing.
The controversial caricature in the August 2014 issue of Penguen (Penguin) featured two besuited civil servants at the gate of the new presidential palace, welcoming Erdogan after he was elected president that month. One of the men is depicted making a vulgar hand gesture while shaking Erdogan’s hand.
Erdogan replies: “There could have been a warmer welcome, you could have at least sacrificed a journalist!”
This was a reference to an Islamic tradition of sacrificing animals to mark major events. Erdogan has come under repeated fire for eroding the rights of journalists during his rule.
Ozer Aydogan and Bahadir Baruter from the weekly satirical magazine Penguen were each initially sentenced to 11 months in prison by a criminal court in Istanbul yesterday. However the judges converted the jail terms to a fine of 7,000 lira ($2,700) each, and the two men have not been detained, the Hurriyet newspaper reported on Wednesday. The two were not present at the hearing.
The controversial caricature in the August 2014 issue of Penguen (Penguin) featured two besuited civil servants at the gate of the new presidential palace, welcoming Erdogan after he was elected president that month. One of the men is depicted making a vulgar hand gesture while shaking Erdogan’s hand.
Erdogan replies: “There could have been a warmer welcome, you could have at least sacrificed a journalist!”
This was a reference to an Islamic tradition of sacrificing animals to mark major events. Erdogan has come under repeated fire for eroding the rights of journalists during his rule.
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