25 November 2025

Zafer Arapkirli, columnist for BirGün newspaper, appeared before the Istanbul 60th Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of “insulting the President” under Article 299/1-2 of the Turkish Penal Code due to a social media post. The indictment was prepared with the permission of the Ministry of Justice, following a complaint by Türkiye newspaper columnist Cem Küçük via the platform X (formerly Twitter). The case concerns Arapkirli’s post dated 23 October 2024, stating “You are a very bad screenwriter… You always were.”

Arapkirli rejected the charges, describing the case as “political.” His lawyers İbrahim Kaboğlu, Kemal Aytaç, and Deniz Yazgan stated that the case was based on assumptions and political pressure. Kaboğlu argued that Article 299 had lost its validity since the President is no longer an impartial figure under the current system, referencing the ECtHR’s Vedat Şörli judgment. Aytaç pointed out a handwritten note allegedly by the prosecutor stating “The offence is very strained, should we even take a statement?” which was quickly removed from the file upon detection. The court accepted the participation request of President Erdoğan’s lawyer Ahmet Özel. The next hearing was scheduled for 13 January 2026 at 10:50 for the submission of the prosecutor’s final opinion.