Barış İnce, a former editor of Birgün who still writes for
the leftist daily, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for “insulting” Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his plea submitted to court in a former case.
İnce was initially tried over a news report on the Dec. 17-25,
2013 corruption allegations, which Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) say amounted to a plot to overthrow the government.
A criminal case was filed against İnce for “insulting”
Erdoğan and his son, Bilal Erdoğan, in the report. İnce was again sued over the
plea presented to court in his defense, in which the initials of each paragraph
spell out “thief,” in apparent reference to Erdoğan.
In his defense, İnce claimed that it was either an
unfortunate coincidence or the “work of God,” but the court sentenced him to 21
months in jail.
He will appeal his sentence at the Constitutional Court.
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