The government of Turkey, through its media censorship agencies, canceled production of the talk show Public Arena on Halk TV, known as a secularist broadcast network, on Wednesday after two veteran actors mused that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be hanged or poisoned if he continues to repress free speech.
Actors Metin Akpınar, 77, and Müjdat Gezen, 75, both acclaimed actors with comedy backgrounds, are facing criminal charges for “insulting the president” over their comment on the program, as per Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Thursday that the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) canceled at least five episodes of Public Arena and forced the network to pay a fine exclusively in response to the Akpınar and Gezen interviews. The actors, according to the censorship agency, “exceeded the boundaries of criticism” by “promoting the people to hatred and enmity.”
The agency’s decision follows the arrest of both actors on Monday for allegedly promoting a coup d’etat against Erdogan, joining thousands in the past five years who have faced criminal charges for insulting the president.
The comments in question from both actors warned that Erdogan could not maintain his grip on power in the country by continuing to repress journalists, cooperate with the Russian government, and manipulating elections.
Akpınar accused Erdogan of polarizing the country to purposely divide public sentiment. “The only solution to ridding ourselves of this polarization is democracy,” he said, “If we can reach that point, then we can get out of the situation we are in without fighting and chaos. And if we can’t, then maybe they’ll hang the leader by his foot, maybe he’ll die in a cellar after being poisoned or they may experience the horrible ends that other leaders experienced.”
He went on to say that, with the exception of the founder of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, “whoever turned to Russia … had to leave their seat.”
Gezen specifically named Erdogan in his remarks, objecting to his accusations against opposition politicians.
“He is rebuking everyone, he is pointing his finger at everybody, he tells people ‘to know your limits.’ Look, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, you cannot test our patriotism. You should know your limit,” he warned.
Erdogan and his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) responded immediately to the remarks. An AKP spokesperson accused the two actors of “crimes against humanity,” while Erdogan called the men “poor excuses” for actors and “useless artists.”
“They should go and give an account for it to the judiciary, we can’t leave these things unanswered … You want to have this country’s president hanged!” Erdogan said in a speech this week. “We believe in martyrdom. They are a bunch of useless artists. They will pay the price.”
Akpınar reportedly told journalists on his way to court that he and his colleague “have done nothing to deserve this.”
The nation’s secularist politicians have also condemned Ankara for taking legal action against the actors. The head of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, issued a statement remarking that the two actors in question “criticized me even more” on a different program and it never occurred to him to pursue legal action.
“We do not accept what’s being done to Metin Akpınar and Müjdat Gezen. Everyone has the right to criticize,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, lamenting that Erdogan “cannot tolerate the slightest criticism.”
The Turkish government under Erdogan has taken a much more aggressive stance on punishing public condemnation on the president. Early this year, for example, Turkish singer Zuhal Olcay was sentenced to 10 months in prison for changing the lyrics of one of her songs during a live concert to say “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it’s all empty, it’s all a lie, life will end one day and you’ll say ‘I had a dream.’”
Kılıçdaroğlu has personally been the target of several legal actions for criticizing Erdogan in the process of serving as the leader of the political opposition. In 2016, before the July failed coup against Erdogan, the president sued Kılıçdaroğlu for referring to him as a “sham dictator” at a political rally.
In the aftermath of the July coup attempt, Erdogan announced a blanket pardon to thousands of people imprisoned for allegedly insulting him.
“For us, the milestone is July 29. We have taken action for the cases that took place before July 29. So, to my knowledge, there is no one left in prison for insulting the president,” Erdogan’s lawyer Huseyin Aydin said at the time. Since 2016, Erdogan has continued to due and order the prosecutions of dissidents in the country.
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