The prosecutor did not give reason in the case of Evrensel columnist Ender İmrek but asked for a penalty

Meltem AKYOL
İstanbul

The second hearing of the case against Evrensel's writer Ender İmrek was held for his article titled “The Hermes bag was shining bright”, dated 29 June 2019. Explaining his opinion on the merits, the prosecutor demanded that İmrek be punished for "the alleged crime", but did not give any justification.

İmrek's lawyers reminded the prosecutor of the "obligation to give reasons", and the Prosecutor replied "The reason is clear to the one who understands". The next hearing of İmrek, who is accused of “insulting the First Lady Emine Erdoğan by not attributing good qualities”, is scheduled for December 2, 2020.

'THERE IS NO INSULT BUT POLITICAL CRITICISIM'

[…] Ender İmrek's lawyer Yıldız İmrek, who spoke at the hearing where the defendant was not taken due to the pandemic, reminded that they presented to the court the expert opinion by Prof. Dr. Yaman Adeniz and Human Rights Lawyer Kerem Altıparmak, which includes scientific data on defamation cases.

Attorney İmrek said, “The addressee Emine Erdoğan is a person who has taken on a political role here, and my client has made a political criticism as a member of the press. There are expressions such as 'groundless accusations' in the indictment. We do not understand what the groundless accusation is. Did Emine Erdogan not wear a Hermes bag? So, what is unfounded? There is no insult but political criticism.”

WE DEMAND ACQUITTAL

“This case should not have been filed,” said Attorney İmrek, “There is an accusation in the indictment such as 'insult by not attributing good qualifications'. What does this mean? It means that a person is criticized for not being liked and even not praised. In other words, my client is accused of insulting because he did not praise the First Lady. The elements of a defamation crime do not occur here… There is political criticism here, no insult. The decisions of the ECHR reveal that punishing criticism has a silencing effect. We demand an immediate acquittal."

INSULT BY LACK OF ATRIBUTUION OF GOOD QUALITIES

[…] In the said article "The Hermes bag was shining bright", Ender İmrek drew attention to the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu who was tried for "insulting the President" on the same date when President Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan attended the G20 summit in Japan. Imrek criticized her participation in the summit with a Hermes bag of crocodile skin worth 50 thousand dollars.

İmrek wrote “Two photos of Turkey... One of them is Emine Hanım, who is on the agenda with her richness, splendour, and glamour with her bag of the famous brand, and the other is Canan Hanım in jeans, who was brought before the judge with a fabricated indictment."

[…]

On the grounds of this article, İmrek was charged with "insulting First Lady Erdoğan by not attributing good qualifications" and a lawsuit was filed.