The Turkish government’s sweeping campaign to criminalize criticism has claimed two more victims, as gendarmerie forces raided the homes of two men in Tekirdağ province and a court ordered their immediate arrest. Their alleged crime, now a routine charge used to silence dissent across the country, was “insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan” in posts made on social media.
This incident is a stark illustration of the systematic nature of the state’s assault on free expression. The pre-dawn raids and the swiftness of the court’s decision to imprison the men underscore a chilling reality: the judicial process is no longer about justice, but about the rapid punishment of perceived disloyalty. For one of the men, this is his second detention on the exact same charge, highlighting the relentless persecution faced by those who refuse to be silenced.
These arrests are not isolated events but the predictable outcome of a state policy that has weaponized Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. This law, which criminalizes “insulting the president” with a sentence of one to four years in prison, has been transformed under Erdoğan into a dragnet for any form of opposition, satire, or critical commentary.
The scale of this legal crackdown is staggering. Official figures show that in 2016 alone, a shocking 3,658 people were charged under this statute. Thousands of citizens have been investigated, prosecuted, and jailed for tweets, Facebook posts, and even private messages, creating a pervasive atmosphere of fear.
The goal of this campaign is clear: to insulate the president from any and all public criticism and to send a message to millions of citizens that the cost of speaking freely is their own freedom. The raids in Tekirdağ are not about upholding the law; they are about enforcing silence and making an example of those who dare to step out of line. Each arrest serves as another brick in the wall of fear being built around Turkish society.
