MLSA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan directly intervened as a party in a criminal case against Hüseyin Kocabıyık, a former member of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who stood trial over critical remarks he made about Erdoğan. Kocabıyık was sentenced to 2 years, 5 months and 5 days in prison for “insulting the president” and was released after the verdict. The court did not rule on a separate charge of “defamation” included in the same case file.
The trial, held at the 46th Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul, stemmed from comments Kocabıyık made in an interview with Cumhuriyet newspaper and posts on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which prosecutors claimed insulted the president. Kocabıyık, who had been held in pre-trial detention at Sincan Prison for 72 days, appeared in court, where Erdoğan’s personal attorney submitted a formal request to join the case as a co-plaintiff and demanded Kocabıyık’s conviction.
The indictment sought up to eight years in prison for Kocabıyık on charges of “insulting the president” and “defamation.” In a rare move, Erdoğan was listed not only as the complainant but also as a party to the proceedings.
“If I had been invited, I would’ve come; instead, they raided my home”
In his defense statement, Kocabıyık argued that his remarks were political criticism and personal commentary, not criminal offenses. “Your honor, I’ve served in public office for 35 years. If I had been summoned to testify, I would’ve come. But instead, my home was raided by police. The reason I’m here is neither enmity nor insult,” he said.
He also criticized the vagueness of the indictment: “It’s not even clear which of my words are being treated as criminal. My remarks have been cherry-picked. This is a case about opinion. When law bends, the state collapses. I reject all the charges.”
Erdoğan’s lawyer: “We demand punishment”
Speaking at the hearing, Erdoğan’s lawyer reiterated their request to join the case and called for Kocabıyık to be punished. The intervention marked an unusual instance in which Turkey’s president, also the head of the executive branch, actively participated in the prosecution of a former member of his own party.
Prosecutor sought sentence for defamation as well, but court did not rule on it
Delivering the final opinion, the prosecutor demanded the highest possible sentence for “publicly and repeatedly insulting the president” and called for Kocabıyık to remain in detention. The prosecutor also requested that the court issue a ruling on the defamation charge.
Responding to the prosecution, Kocabıyık said: “I’ve been literate for 40 years. If you read the interview, you’ll see none of what the prosecutor says is true. The word ‘coup’ was used metaphorically. Where is the insult or slander in that? I fought for Erdoğan because he was a victim. When I said, ‘You staged a coup against yourself,’ it was a form of criticism.”
The court sentenced Kocabıyık only for “insulting the president” and ordered his release. It issued no decision on the defamation charge.
What happened?
Hüseyin Kocabıyık, a former AKP lawmaker from the western coastal province of İzmir, was detained on Oct. 7, 2025, and later arrested on charges of “insulting the president” over critical remarks and social media posts. During questioning, he rejected the allegations, saying his comments were expressions of criticism and suggestion. Reacting to the arrest, he said, “No one can silence me by throwing me in prison. For me, this is a badge of honor.”
In an interview with Cumhuriyet, Kocabıyık discussed internal dynamics within the AKP, stating: “The AKP distributes something to everyone. They gave something to me too. They made my wife a governor. At the time, two minister friends jokingly said to me, ‘We’ve nailed you down by your feet.’ But when I started objecting to certain things, they took it all back. That’s how the system works. That’s why everyone stays silent.”
Kocabıyık had previously been expelled from the AKP after criticizing Erdoğan over the trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, telling the president, “You staged a coup against yourself.”
He served as an MP during the 25th and 26th legislative terms and previously worked as an adviser during the premiership of Tansu Çiller. He also wrote columns for Yeni Asır, a pro-government newspaper.
Following his public criticism of the convictions in the Gezi Park trial, his wife Funda Kocabıyık was removed from her position as governor of Uşak province and reassigned to the central administration.
