Istanbul: Garo Paylan, Turkish MP Files Criminal Complaint Against Erdogan

October 19, 2016 By administrator

Garo Paylan

ISTANBUL— Garo Paylan, Turkish MP, filed a criminal complaint against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday concerning his disregard of anti-Armenian chants shouted during his speech in Trabzon on October 15. Paylan directed the complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office underlining that Erdogan violated Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Law which bans “inciting hatred and hostility among peoples and denigration.”

Paylan’s complaint, translated by Turkey-based Armenian newspaper Agos, can be read below.

“On October 15, there was a rally in Trabzon, where President Erdoğan gave a speech. The audience, which is claimed to be AKP members, repeatedly shouted ‘Armenian bastards cannot discourage us.’ The president, ministers and members of organization committee didn’t do anything to prevent people from shouting that slogan. This slogan, apart from the fact that it insults Armenian people who have been living on these lands for centuries, is considered as hate speech under the international laws to which Turkey is a party and the practices of ECHR. Unfortunately, such expressions about Armenian people are nothing new. It is self-evident that hate speech has the power of leading to public indignation and constitutes a danger to safety of life and property of Armenian citizens, for this fact has been a part of the rulings of national and international judicial authorities. Especially the silence of the president, who is supposed to treat equally to all citizens, increases the power of hate discourse and facilitates the targeting of Armenians. In addition, by constituting an obstacle to the practice of living together peacefully, this slogan incited hatred and hostility against a section of the population on the basis of their racial difference and denigrated Armenian people.”

On Monday, Paylan posted on his official Twitter account footage of Erdogan, Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu and Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs Veysel Eroglu as witnesses of the incident.

Turkey: the former football star Hakan Sükür tried for insulting Erdogan

June 17, 2016 By administrator

The trial of the former star of Turkish football Hakan Sükür for “insulting” the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a controversial count for which he faces up to four years in prison, opened Thursday in Istanbul, reported news agency Dogan.

The prosecutor of the Istanbul Bakirkoy district claims against the author of the fastest goal in the history of the World Cup in 2002 in South Korea, one to four years in prison for “insulting” Mr. Erdogan in a series of tweets since erased, Dogan said, without specifying the content.

According to the daily Hürriyet, Hakan would Sükür refers to a corruption scandal in 2013 for the Erdogan’s entourage and launched without naming him: “Is this how you become a politician, impudent?” Absent when first hearing, the former player now lives in the US, according to his lawyer Ali Onur güncel quoted by Dogan. The trial was adjourned to give time to the defense to disclose the new address of the player to the court, the agency said.

Since his election to the presidency in August 2014, Erdogan accused by his critics of wanting stifle all dissent, has multiplied the proceedings for “insult” to both artists and journalists as individuals.

After a rich sports career, especially with the club Galatasaray Sükür had entered politics to Erdogan sides and had been elected in 2011 on a list of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power since 2002.

But hostile to Erdogan’s decision to launch a war on his former ally became his enemy number 1, the influential preacher Fethullah Gulen who lives in the United States which is deemed to be a follower, he had resigned from the AKP in 2013.

Hakan Sükür had denied it a few months ago have moved to the United States, ensuring that he went to “learn English”.

Aged 44, Hakan Sükür spent most of his career at Galatasaray Istanbul club with which he won 8 times the championship of Turkey and the UEFA Cup in 2000. In the national team he has 112 caps and scored 51 goals between 1992 and 2008 with a 3rd place at the 2002 World Cup.

Ankara: Thousands protest against Erdogan government in Ankara

January 11, 2014 By administrator

By: PressTV

Some 20,000 people have taken to the streets in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in protest at the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has been shaken by a corruption scandal.

The protesters gathered at Sihhiye Square in Ankara on Saturday, as the premier arrived from a tour of Asia.

The protesters handed out fake dollars with Erdogan’s photo on them and chanted “revolution will clean this filth” and “they are thieves.”

The corruption probe involving several governmental officials and prominent businessmen has rocked Erdogan’s government and posed the biggest challenge to his 11-year rule.

The investigation broke out on December 17, after Erdogan’s allies were arrested on graft charges.

The Turkish premier was then forced to carry out a major cabinet reshuffle after three of his ministers resigned as their sons were detained in the probe.

Erdogan denounced the probe as a “dirty plot” to undermine his government ahead of the local elections in March and sacked hundreds of police chiefs in a major purge.

The scandal has also affected the country’s economy with the currency, lira, at record lows against the dollar and the value of shares tumbling on the Istanbul stock exchange.

Erdogan has accused US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of instigating the corruption investigation.

Gulen is an influential figure in Turkey and reportedly has many followers in some arms of the country’s state apparatus such as the judiciary, the police and secret services.

Gulen has denied any involvement in Turkey’s recent political crisis.