Kemal Göktaş (Photo: @kemalgoktas)
A Turkish journalist was charged on Tuesday for “insulting a public official“.
Kemal Göktaş, a reporter for Turkish paper Milliyet, faces up to two years and four months in prison for criticising the sentence of a police officer who beat a woman in custody. The victim called for eight years imprisonment, but the officer was handed down a one-year jail sentence.
Göktaş’s last article on the case appeared on Milliyet’s website on 6 October. He told Agos that his case is not only a violation of press freedom, but also a human rights violation. He is will testify on 14 November.
In 2009, Göktaş was acquitted of similar charges after publishing articles criticising “general surveillance permission“.
The incident was reported to mediafreedom.ushahihi.com, Index on Censorship’s media violations mapping project.
