On paper, Turkey is a democracy ruled by its people. But you might not be able to tell that by reading the news. Stories of citizens in jail for speaking against the Turkish president appear often. It’s an alarming trend—and it may be growing.
Turkey is a parliamentary republic, not a dictatorship or monarchy. The president is not all-powerful; he is supposed to answer to parliament. However, in some ways the Western Asian country seems more like its extremist neighbors than it does other democratic governments.
For example, insulting the president is illegal in Turkey. Violating the law can result in a five-year prison term. Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan took office in 2014. Before that, he spent 11 years as prime minister. In both positions, Erdogan has aggressively enforced the no-insult law.
While Erdogan was prime minister, the former Miss Turkey, Merve Buyuksarac, posted a poem on Instagram. The poem reworded the Turkish national anthem to include references to a corruption scandal involving Erdogan’s family. Police questioned the beauty queen over suspicion that she violated the law.
“I think politicians have to be open to criticism,” says Buyuksarac. She agrees that Turkey’s intolerance of criticism is strange. “In democratic countries, what happened to me is not normal.” She thinks the government picked on her because she is a celebrity.
That may be true, but she isn’t alone. And now that Erdogan is president, the rules are even stricter. Officials questioned a Turkish newspaper editor. His “crime” was publishing an interview about a legal case involving people close to the president. The editor believes the government wants to intimidate the press.
Two teenagers also felt the heat of the no-insult law. Authorities pulled a 13-year-old out of school for posting a comment about Erdogan on Facebook. A 16-year-old insulted the president at a student protest. He’s on trial for calling Erdogan “the thieving owner of the illegal palace.” Harsh, yes. But illegal?
Both cases received international attention. In all, Erdogan’s government has launched 43 insult cases against 80 people.
The situation in Turkey brings up matters of free speech around the world. What kinds of speech should be protected? Who gets to decide what people can and can’t say? The United States Constitution guarantees citizens certain rights, but many in other countries don’t enjoy the same liberties. We can be thankful for a country that still protects freedom of speech.
