İlyas Salman appears in court for 'insulting the president'
Actor İlyas Salman has appeared in court, facing up to 4 years and 8 months in prison on charges of 'publicly insulting the president'.
İHA
The trial of actor İlyas Salman has begun, with prosecutors seeking a prison sentence ranging from 1 year and 2 months to 4 years and 8 months for the charge of 'publicly insulting the president'.
İlyas Salman and his lawyers were present at the hearing held at the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance. A lawyer representing President Erdoğan also attended the hearing.
While Salman presented his defense during the hearing, the complainant's lawyer stated that they wished to join the case and that their complaint remained active. The defendant's lawyer, meanwhile, filed a motion for the judge's recusal.
MOTION FOR RECUSAL TO BE EVALUATED
Announcing its interim decision, the court granted Salman's lawyer time to submit the motion for the judge's recusal in writing, ruled that the case file be sent to the duty Assize Court for review once the motion is submitted, and adjourned the hearing.
In an interview with Işıl Çalışkan from BirGün last year, actor İlyas Salman had stated, "I do not deem Tayyip Erdoğan worthy of the presidency. Because he is a cheap man."
A lawsuit had been filed against Salman recently on the allegation of 'publicly insulting the president'.