Cansu Pişkin, İstanbul – The tenth hearing of writer Perihan Mağden and journalists Tunca Öğreten, Orhan Şahin and Mehmet Çağlar Tekin was held at İstanbul 2nd Court of First Instance today. They face insult charges surrounding the publication by Öğreten of an interview with Mağden where she described President Erdoğan as a ‘trapped tiger’.
The interview was published in Diken magazine and Yurt newspaper, where Şahin and Tekin were executives.
The hearing was monitored by the Turkish representative of Reporters Without Borders, Erol Önderoğlu, and journalist Tuğba Tekerek.
Öğreten mounted a ferocious defense, arguing that “Ms. Mağden used a literary metaphor to define President Erdoğan and said that he was like a cornered tiger. In Turkey, words such as a lion or a tiger are not considered as insults. I wrote it down because in my opinion, it was not insulting to anyone. As journalists we are constantly being tried, I have now become a professional defendant. I would not have written it if I thought it was intended as an insult. Let alone, I am only the messenger here.” Given that he believes there was no insult made, Öğreten requested an immediate acquittal.
Sevgi Kalan, Öğreten’s lawyer, then reminded the court that there is precedent from the European Court of Human Rights which indicates that an interviewer cannot be punished for the remarks of an interviewee. “The legal precedent of the ECtHR clearly state that punishing a journalist for solely transferring the words of someone else will create pressure over journalists and thus prevent them from reporting on issues in favor of the public interest. Mağden has used a literary simile in order to describe President Erdoğan in his relations with other states’ officials.” Kalan remarked that even if describing him as a ‘cornered tiger’ was an insult, President Erdoğan ought to tolerate such criticisms given his political position.
The court decided to adjourn the hearing until December 27 in order to investigate who the managing editor of Yurt newspaper was at the date of publication.
Updated: November 29 2018
