Former MP sentenced to jail for retweeting cartoon of President Erdoğan

Duvar English

Former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Süleyman Girgin has been sentenced to 11 months and 15 days in prison in a case over sharing a cartoon of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In 2018, three Middle East Technical University (METU) students carried the same cartoon during their graduation ceremony and were arrested on charges of “insulting the president.” They were released following an appeal and acquitted of the charges in 2021.

The case in question was filed against 72 deputies who retweeted a post by former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The post included the same cartoon of President Erdoğan and the comment, “You can’t suppress criticism and humor by imprisoning people.”

Later, a motion was submitted to parliament to lift the legislative immunity of 68 deputies. While many deputies were acquitted, an Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Girgin to prison during a hearing on Dec. 17.

Last month, former CHP lawmaker Ali Şeker was also sentenced to 11 months in prison in the same case.

Girgin, who reacted to the prison sentence, stated, "In reality, there is no actual case. This is a file opened with fabricated reasons, aimed at using the judiciary to intimidate politicians."

Girgin emphasized that there was no intent to insult the president in the case and continued, "However, the government, which believes it can extend its tenure by becoming more authoritarian, feels the need for such simple moves. They think they can undermine the CHP's march from local to national power by intimidating citizens and silencing politicians with these moves."

What happened?

The said cartoon first featured on the cover of the Turkish humor magazine Penguen in 2005. The original cartoon was drawn by several of the magazine's cartoonists and showed then-Prime Minister Erdoğan as an elephant, giraffe, monkey, camel, frog, snake, cow, and duck.

After the publication of the cartoon, Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against the magazine, yet the case was dismissed.

The cartoon resurfaced after it was carried by the students in the graduation ceremony in the METU.