It's not safe to insult Erdogan, even from Lebanon
Ankara has successfully pressured Beirut into prosecuting a Lebanese talk show host for criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his own country.
Criticizing Turkey’s famously thin skinned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a risky business.
More than 100,000 people have been investigated and at least 30,000 others have been prosecuted for “insulting the president” since Erdogan rose to the presidency in 2014.
The crime carries a penalty of at least four years in prison under Article 299 of Turkey’s penal code.
Veteran Turkish comedians Mujdat Gezen and Metin Akpinar are among the most recent targets for airing disapproval over Erdogan’s autocratic behavior in a 2018 television appearance. Prosecutors sought up to four years and eight months in prison for the pair, who have entertained generations of Turks with their jibes at successive governments.
