Unfortunately, one of the types of crimes that we often encounter in recent times is the offense of insulting the President. Especially often and publicly committed through social media, it has become one of the crimes that we encounter many times today.
The crime of insulting the president.”Crimes against the Sovereignty Signs of the State and the Dignity of its Organsunder the heading”, regulated in article 299.
For this type of crime, which can be considered a qualified and special form of the offense of defamation, it is necessary to regulate it separately in the law. The President literally refers to being the head of the Turkish community representing the Turkish people. The element of this offense is regulated not for individuals, but for the represented authority. Sometimes the freedom of expression exceeds the limit of criticism and the extent of the insult is applied.
Punishment for Defamation of the President
Insult to the President
Article 299- (1) Whoever insults the President shall be punished with imprisonment from 1 year to 4 years.
(2) (Modified: 29/6/2005 —5377/35) In case of public commission of the crime, the penalty to be imposed shall be increased by one-sixth.
(3) Prosecution for this crime is subject to the permission of the Minister of Justice.
The offense of insulting the president is a criminal clause that has been imposed long in advance. We have explained above the reason why it is often mentioned today. Since the office of the presidency is a unifying, complementary and representative office above politics, the spirituality of the office was desired to be preserved. With the amendment of the Constitution in 2017, the office of the President, which is a superpolitical position that was given the possibility to become the head of a party at the same time, has become a political one. Unfortunately, in our country, as with any topic, especially in political discussions, our people go beyond the limits of criticism by making quite wild exits. For this reason, there are quite a lot of lawsuits filed against them.
It was adopted by the Supreme Court that the limits of criticism and tolerance of politicians and people who cost the public should be higher than that of an ordinary citizen. However, the point here is not criticism, but the punishment of individuals who commit the crime for personally insulting words and actions. In our opinion, we believe that this article of the law is appropriate and appropriate. Because the legal value protected here is the protection of the authority representing the Turkish people. Hence,
TCK 125/3 — according to paragraph a;
(3) The offence of defamation;
a) because of his duty to a public official,
If it is committed, the lower limit of the sentence cannot be less than one year.
It must be kept separate from the article of the law.
Difference Between TCK 125 Defamation Offense and TCK 299 Offense of Defamation to the President
According to the Turkish Penal Code 125, the basic penalty for the offense of defamation can be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or only a judicial fine. In qualified cases, a penalty of at least 1 year is prescribed.
According to the Turkish Penal Code 299, the victim of the crime in the crime of defamation of the President can only be the incumbent President. The lower limit of the penalty starts from 1 year. It is a crime that can be punishable if the sentence of up to 4 years is given close to the upper limit.
Competent and Competent Court for Defamation of the President
Courts charged with defamation of the President”ordinary criminal courts“dir. As a general rule, the place where the crime was committed is considered to be the courts with jurisdiction. If the crime was committed by means of a telephone, etc., this situation is considered to be the place where the crime exerts an effect on the victim and learns. That is, in this case, the President, wherever he learned of the act of defamation, the court of that place will have jurisdiction.
The competent court for visual and audiovisual broadcasts; the broadcasting center or the court where the victim heard and heard the act is competent (CMK12/5).
Can the Explanation of the Proclamation of the Defamation Offense Clause Be Granted to the President? (HAGB)
If a sentence of less than 2 years is received for insulting the President, it may be decided to restore the disclosure of the sentence. However, it should also be taken into account that the offense of insulting the President, a type of crime for which the trial is carried out from 1 year to 4 years, is also increased by half when it is committed publicly.
Duration of Complaint, Limitation of Litigation, Settlement,
The crime of insulting the President, Follow-up Complaint-Related Offenses It is not in the category. When the offense is reported to the prosecutor's office within the statute of limitations, an investigation is initiated. For the crime of insulting the President statute of limitations Duration is 8 years.
The crime of insulting the President, between the parties pacification are not crimes that require the implementation of the procedure.
Criminal Fines for Defamation of the President
Judicial fines are a sanction that can be imposed in conjunction with prison sentences or only as a judicial fine. If their condition occurs, the prison sentence can be translated into a judicial fine.
Deferral of Sentence for Insulting the President
In the case of the offense of insulting the President, it may be possible if the conditions for postponement of the sentence are established.
Supreme Court Decisions Insulting the President
5th Criminal Division 2019/3867 E., 2019/5692 K.
“Text of the Case Law”
By letter of the General Directorate of Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice dated 14/04/2019 and 75723908-106-02-1370-2019-E. 16149/29442;
The file on the request of the suspect to determine the place of competent jurisdiction in accordance with Article 14/3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in accordance with Article 14/3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the investigation of the crime of defamation against the President due to the posts made on the social networking site in the country of Germany is sent to our Office in the appendix of the letter of the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Court dated 02/05/2019 and 2019/45537 The need to be examined was considered:
Authorized officer of the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office and the court of the Republic of Istanbul, which is the place where the first procedural action is carried out in accordance with articles 14/1 and 13/3 of CMK 5271, since it is a crime committed in a foreign country and must be investigated and prosecuted in Turkey in accordance with the provisions of the law and the suspect of the crime has not been apprehended, settled or has no address in Turkey its dissolution was unanimously decided on 23/05/2019 in accordance with Article 14/3 of the CMK.