Prison sentence reduced for Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who insulted Bosniaks

A new ruling has been issued in the case of Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who was tried for insulting Bosniaks during a sports program broadcast on Beyaz TV.

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, the sentence of Kütahyalı, who had received a 10-month prison term and appealed the decision, has been reduced to 7 months and 15 days.

RETRIED

A verdict was reached on February 19, 2024, in the case where Kütahyalı was retried. In its ruling, the court stated that the Bosniak people, who have been subjected to the greatest persecution, torment, and even genocide, view Turkey as their motherland and have migrated to Turkey, living particularly in cities such as Istanbul and Bursa. It was also noted that the Bosniak population in Turkey is approximately 2 million.

NO POSITIVE CONVICTION FORMED

In the ruling, it was emphasized that Kütahyalı did not display any attitude or behavior in court that would warrant a discretionary reduction, and that he did not form a conviction that he would not commit a crime in the future; he was sentenced to 7 months and 15 days in prison. The court also decided that there was no room for the suspension of Kütahyalı's prison sentence.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Kütahyalı had insulted Bosniaks during a program broadcast on the pro-government channel Beyaz TV on December 19, 2017.

Following this, dozens of people, including the Kütahya Bar Association, CHP İzmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, MHP MP Saffet Sancaklı, the Bosnia Culture and Solidarity Association, former Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council member Hüseyin Sağ, and former Şahinbey Municipal Council member Uğur Kalkan (CHP), filed criminal complaints. A lawsuit was filed against Kütahyalı at the Istanbul 27th Criminal Court of First Instance for the crime of "publicly degrading a segment of the public based on social, class, religious, sectarian, gender, or regional differences."

In his defense, Kütahyalı said, "I have been away from the screens. I lost all my income. I am very sorry. I have a special sympathy for Bosnia and Bosniaks in particular. Sarajevo is the city I have visited the most in my life. I mindlessly repeated a phrase I saw on Ekşi Sözlük, the meaning of which I did not know."

Concluding the case in 2019, the court sentenced Kütahyalı to 10 months in prison and did not apply a good conduct reduction. Furthermore, the court decided that there was no room for the suspension of the prison sentence, as Kütahyalı did not form a conviction that he would not commit a crime again.