A cartoonist for the Turkish satirical publication LeMan, Doğan Pehlevan, received a suspended prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days from an Istanbul court. The legal proceedings concluded during the fifth hearing, where the judge found him guilty of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan through social media posts on X. Pehlevan consistently maintained that he did not own or operate the account in question. Despite defense arguments highlighting a lack of evidence linking the cartoonist to the specific profile, the court proceeded with the conviction. The Media and Law Studies Association reported that the ruling was finalized by the 36th Criminal Court of First Instance. This case highlights ongoing legal scrutiny regarding online speech and presidential defamation laws in Turkey.
Source : Turkish Minute
