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July 11, 2025 – Turkey –
Freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay has been fined 10,500 TRY (≈ $320) by an Istanbul court after being convicted of “insulting the president” for social media posts criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, including one following the devastating February 6, 2023, earthquakes.
Karabay faced charges under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, a frequently invoked law that criminalizes insults against the president and carries penalties ranging from one to four years imprisonment, potentially extended if the insult is public. The case, monitored closely by press freedom advocates, reached its fifth hearing on July 11, 2025, before Istanbul’s 74th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The indictment cited three tweets from 2023, including a pointed critique of “owls sitting in palaces,” questioning the government’s response to the earthquake, and alleging collusion between the ruling party and extremist elements. Karabay’s lawyers argued that the remarks were legitimate political commentary, not targeted insults. They noted his posts addressed broader systemic issues—not the person of the president—and fell within the bounds of journalistic expression and public interest criticism.
President Erdoğan’s legal team and prosecutors countered that the tweets exceeded permissible criticism, harming the dignity of the presidency. The court sided with the prosecution in part, issuing a modest fine rather than imprisonment.
Karabay is no stranger to legal harassment. He has previously faced and escaped charges under the same law, including a suspended sentence last April (11 months, 20 days for insulting and slander combined). In May 2025, he was detained on separate accusations—“insulting a public official,” “defaming public servants,” and the serious-sounding yet frequently used claim of “targeting those combating terrorism”—and remains held in pretrial custody at Silivri’s Marmara Prison.
Karabay’s continued persecution reflects a broader climate in Turkey, where criminal defamation laws like Article 299 are regularly used to muzzle journalists, critics, and civil society. Between 2014 and 2019 alone, nearly 129,000 investigations were launched under the statute. Press freedom watchdogs—including CPJ, PEN, and the Council of Europe—decry this trend as a systematic erosion of democratic norms and media independence.
While the court’s fine is less severe than a prison term, Karabay’s conviction and detention illustrate the Turkish judiciary’s growing role in punishing dissent through legal means. These developments continue to alarm advocates and highlight the precarious status of free expression in the country.
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