Turkish authorities take legal action against a sea captain for alleged ‘insulting president Erdoğan’

A legal action was taken against the captain of the Panama-flagged dry cargo vessel transiting from the Dardanelles in alleged ‘insulting Turkish President Erdoğan’ via a wireless telephone
Friday, 09 June 2017 01:18

The Turkish captain (identified as O.B) of the Panama-flagged dry cargo vessel named ‘Salix’ transiting from the Dardanelles allegedly insulted the Turkish President Erdoğan during wireless contact with the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS). In accordance with the VTS report, a legal action was taken against the captain of the vessel on the instruction of port authority.

According to CNN Türk’s report, allegedly drunk captain of the vessel named ‘Salix’ has been dismissed on the instruction of Çanakkale Port Master Ramazan Yılmaz. The chief officer thereupon navigated the vessel and anchored in the north of Tenedos (Bozcaada), an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea.

Upon informing the prosecutor regarding the incident, Turkish Coast Guard Command stepped in and the coast guards boarding the vessel began to interrogate the captain allegedly insulting the President Erdoğan.

The incident has been submitted to the jurisdiction.

Under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey, whoever criticises Erdoğan finds themselves in court due to the accusations of ‘insulting the President’.

Turkish prosecutors have opened around 3,000 cases against people for insulting Tayyip Erdoğan since he became the president in 2014. There are many journalists, academics, cartoonists and even high school and university students among those who have faced trial for ‘insulting the president’.

Although insulting the president is a crime in Turkey punishable by up to 4 years in jail, the law had previously been enforced so rarely before Erdoğan’s presidency, since the Turkish President regards all the critics as an insult in order to repress any dissent.