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Columnist Türköne faces 5 years in prison for “threatening” Erdoğan

An İstanbul prosecutor has demanded at least five years in prison for Mümtazer Türköne, a former Zaman daily columnist who is critical of the government, for “threatening” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a column he wrote for the daily.

Ertuğrul Sarıyar, a Bakırköy public prosecutor, has prepared the indictment asking at least five years’ imprisonment for columnist Türköne. Bakırköy 2nd High Criminal Court accepted Sarıyar’s indictment.

The indictment was prepared after a secretary-general of Turkish Presidency filed a criminal complaint against columnist Türköne, claiming that he threatened Erdoğan in a column he wrote in Zaman daily in February 2016.

While giving a statement as part of an investigation launched against him, Türköne said no legal elements can be found to constitute a crime of threatening in his column. “I am a nationalist academic who attaches importance to the continuity of the state. In accordance with my manners and the tradition of the government, I have not threatened the president,” Türköne said.

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