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Turkish Student Sentenced To Prison For Retweeting Satirical Article
Over the past year, Turkey has quietly become the poster child of what happens when a formerly reputable "developed world" nation devolves into Banana Republic status slowly at first, and then very fast.
The most recent update out of the country that president Tayyip Erdogan has gradually converted into his own fiefdom was its conversion into a full blown police state: recall a month ago we reported that the parliament passed security laws "that allow police to conduct searches and arrests without immediate court orders and use firearms against militants. The law separately empowered government-appointed governors to order police or paramilitary forces to conduct searches and detain suspects for up to 48 hours without immediate court orders, state-run Anadolu Agency said." Or for comic book buffs, a state in which Judge Dredds run rampant.
And with Turkish enforcement now granted a green light to detain anyone, for any reason, the next inevitable crackdown was only a matter of time - that on free speech.
Overnight we got a vivid example of just that when a university student in southern Turkey has been handed a one-year suspended sentence for retweeting a satirical article about a governor from Zaytung, a mock news portal in Turkey, daily Cumhuriyet has reported.
According to Hurriyet, "a court in the southern province of Adana sentenced Meral Tutcali, who is a sophomore at the sociology department of Anadolu University in the Central Anatolian province of Eskisehir, to one year in jail for retweeting the story about former Adana Gov. Hüseyin Avni Cos, who made nationwide headlines after being caught on camera angrily denouncing a protester as a “gavat” – roughly translated as “pimp” – in November 2013."
The story is beyond bizarre.
The court sentenced Tutcali for “insulting a public official for his duty,” but later decreased the jail term to 10 months for good conduct during the hearings before also deciding to defer the formal announcement of the verdict.
If Tutcali does not commit a similar crime in the following five years, her sentence will not be executed.
In other words, Retweet something Turkey's rulers disagree with, and you are going straight to jail.
Tutcali retweeted Zaytung’s news story from Jan. 6, 2014, which reported: “Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Cos has announced his autonomy. He is more influential than RTE [Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the then-prime minister and currently the president of Turkey.]”
Zaytung, which is modeled on The Onion, is a website that publishes false and satirical stories in a journalistic style, carrying the motto: “honest, independent, immoral news.”
Tutcali’s house was twice raided by police for her retweet, while the woman was also sued on Cos’s complaint.
In November 2013, Cos first denied accusations that he said “gavat,” claiming that he said the similar-sounding “kavas,” which means “rambler.” However, he later confessed that his “tongue had slipped.”
The incident sparked a strong reaction from opposition parties, prompting Erdogan to robustly defend the Adana governor, while admitting that what he did was “inappropriate.”
Cos was later transferred from Adana near the Syrian border to Sakarya in the Marmara region in May 2014.
In retrospect, the defendant's optimism is impressive: speaking after the decision was announced, Tutcali said she was not expecting the decision and was shocked about it. "I see this decision as a part of the policy to intimidate and pressure people who think differently. I believe I do not deserve such punishment. I have not lost my faith in the upcoming bright days."
So while Americans lament the decline of the first amendment, keep in mind: things can always get worse before full Banana status is finally attained.
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Sounds like they're going full Wisconsin. Everyone is a John Doe there.
background: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417155/wisconsins-shame-i-thought-...
This country's a big donor to the Clinton Global Initiave also!
and it was a turkish prison!
Ladies & gentlemen -- the next EU member state.
that's what Bush Jr. proposed. actually even promised
but this law is taking Turkey in a different direction
Why not stop there? What do you think about Russia joining?
what is it about you Americans that makes you constantly push for the rearrangement of Other People's Affairs?
Does Russia *want* to join the EU? Or is it busy setting up the EurAsian Trade Union?
We'd be willing to accept Russia. But Washington and in part London would go apeshit, and you know it. Hell, even China would not be happy
I don't see any pushing, I see two quesitons. What is it about you Europeans that you don't like free speech?
With russia's oil the EU love them.
Actually it seems Turkey tries to raise its standards to reach the ones of the EU states. For example France :
http://www.globalresearch.ca/france-an-eight-year-old-child-arrested-by-...
Agreed, Duo. I heard a little about the John Doe laws and how they were abused in Wisconsin just yesterday. Hope the Tylers do an article on it. Guaranteed that would hit a lot closer to home with ZH members than some college student in Turkey being hassled for a re-tweet.
This is news to me. I'll definitely be sharing it with friends, in person mind you, don't want the agents surveilling me to think I actually appreciate the bill of rights, after all.
That is motherfucking disgusting. And what if one of those cops caught a bullet or ten? He'd be a hero and the entire house would have been lit up.
pods
Yeah. You want to know what these "progressives" really are beneath all the "we care about people more than the other guys" bullshit? That's what they are. Bullies and thugs who have no problem employing force to get their way. If one of those people they were raiding had resisted they'd be dead right now. Executed in their own home.
Being prevented from talking to a lawyer is bull. Even in the case of National Security Letters I think it is bull. These are state investigations not regarding any imminent danger to life or property.
" And what if one of those cops caught a bullet or ten?"
Pods, This shows the importance of knowing one's neighbors. There comes a time when entire neighborhoods need to intervene when they see shit like this happening, and that time is obviously here.
Now all we need is some SC or OK officers to move to Wisconsin, and you'll just end up getting shot in the back in your own home.
I freelance over th? internet and earn about 80-85$ an hour. I was without a job for 7 months but last month my paycheck with big fat bonus was $15000 just working on my computer from my home for 5-6 hours. Here's what i have been doing... www.globe-report.com
Sad to see this happen in Turkey. Used to be a nice place.
USA Circa 2020
Wisconsin back in 2010.
Someone very wise told me recently here in the USA we would have a "shot fired across the bow" loud and clear. Anyone stirring up trouble with anti-state/corp/bank sentiment after that would be fair game for the system to devour.
Dagny Taggart- who is this "someone very wise?" I mean at least give some description. Are they working in a federal agency, a military contact? Without identifying at least the nature of your source one could get the feeling you are just trying to suppress anti-state/corp/bank sentiment.
"Someone very wise"?? Lots of 'em on CNBC, CNN....
LOL! As it turns out, they do actually hate us for our freedom...
some hate you for a variety of reasons
and
some hate freedom, period
the two aren't mutually exclusive, but *that* meme was always pure propaganda
The lack of substance/intelligence in your response isn't surprising.
so, same as it ever was then?
Meanwhile in Japan, drones are beginning to show their value in the hands of citizens:
Drone 'containing radiation' lands on roof of Japanese PM's officehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/22/drone-with-radiation-sign-l...
One day drones will be so small that no political fuck will dare step out of line for fear of being stung by a miniature assassination drone.
Ho-Lee-Fuck .
Splendid news. Where can I buy one? And where does John McStain live?
In the US, they would imprision the student for copywrite infrigment. Did not have writen permission to retweet.
Fuckola! Most of us here would REALLY be up shit creek. Is that what happened to all the AnAnonymouses?
3 guys one funnel will get you 20.
Dang.
Just this morning I called Hillary Clinton an old shrew on Twitter. I called the hosts of #Theview 'menopause lane' too.
Tweet-Tweet.
People of the world, let's stop allowing this tiny minority of tyrants to rule and imprison us illegally. Let's eliminate from the planet any of these "leaders" who try to imprison us for things such as the above, or try to take away our freedoms.
Enough is enough, it's time for The Peoples' Revenge on the Tyrants.
If we all work together, we will eliminate them all in a few weeks.
The only true definition of a crime is a violation of Natural Rights. Laws are discovered, not made, by man. It's time to crack down on crime.
Just remember that the Nazis in Germany started out as the National Socialist Party. Fascism was for the benefit of socialism.
Hey Erdunghead, "Sic semper tyrannis".
So when will we hear Clinton speak out about the need for Democacy and peoples rights in Turkey, like she did China last week?
Or come to that how about people's rights in Saudi?
I'm inhaling and holding my breath till she does....
You'll be glad to know I can answer your question. She'll criticise SA and China if and when they stop donating to her (cough) charitable foundation.
She already spoke ill of China, and they're non to happy about it. There are Trillions of reasons the Bankers will tell her to shut up about China!
Turkey, being a NATO member, will not be mentioned by Hillbill
Good thing he didn't create a video critical of Islam
Need some help here. Is not Turkey an ally of the US and a bastion of democracy in the Middle East?
Paging Secretary Kerry, clean-up on Aisle 9.
Turkey isn't just an alleged ally, but a member of NATO which we are sworn to defend! Strange bed fellows indeed....
Turkey has undergone its own 'fundamental change' during the past 10 years or so. The bureaucracy, and the especially the military have been purged of the defenders of Atatürk's secular republic.
Be very clear on this. Democracy as the West knows it is incompatible with Islam. Self-criticism is incompatible with Islam. The level of tolerance shown by the Religion Of Peace towards kuffars is directly determined by the level of power enjoyed by the kuffars. The less power the less tolerance.
It's pathetic to see cultural reletavists in the West tie themselves in knots trying to explain these elementary facts away.
In this case with regards to Turkey, this has nothing to do with Islam - this is just flat out fascism. Read the history of the Republic of Turkey and you'll see that the strong authoritarian streak stems fundamentally from millitirism and a culture of corruption rather than Islam. (think of the coups of '60, '71 and '80)
It's not quite that simple. There are many different "styles" of Islam, just as there are many different "styles" of Christianity. If someone were to ask any random person what religion they are and they answered Christian, you might think you now know what that person's beliefs are. But DO you really?
Well, are they Catholic? Protestant? Baptist? How about Mormon, or Jehovah's Witness? (Yes, they call themselves Christian too..) And their belief systems are very different from one another., with some being very reasonable and rational, and others being, well, rather odd. And those are just a few of the mainstream ones. You've also got innumerable subgroups and cults, all of whom would identify as Christian, but you'd never recognize their teachings as such.
Same with Islam...the beliefs of people calling themselves Muslim are all over the map. Some are very rational and reasonable, and some are, well, rather odd. What makes Islam harder to pin down though is the fact that Islam has no "Pope" or "Patriarch" or centralized leadership to consolidate teachings. That makes it easier for local thugs to claim God's favor and declare themselves a 'Caliphate".
The challenge with any post in the cyber world is balancing your desire to make a specific post with the necessity for anonymity.
WWIII the war of the people against the elite and corporate owners, banksters and other royal vermin. Stop the concentration of wealth. Arrest them. Can't have wars without financial funding. Arrest them.
But you can otherwise trust this government, and especially the ErDOGan, on all matters great and small.
Let me see if I can understand and decipher this ctyptic-fascist propaganda POS!?!
Turkey gets it shoved up its ass when trying to help the Palestinian uprising with 'God's Chosen'-- and has its flotilla of good will sabotaged. That's OK?
How dare anyone dread on Israelis Domain!
Next, Erdogan is covertly[?] attacked by USSA-- support[?]group... the 'Gulen-Movement'-- the Sunni jihadist extraordinary 'sectarian-buster' (emphasis on creating civil war, or whatever?) in 'neo-reprogramming-mind-stimuli-reunification', or, put simply, 'Room 101`Re-orientation'!
Erdogan tells USSA and Britain to go fuck themselves when Bush invaded Iraq of using their (Turkey's 2nd largest NATO army and strategic military bases) NATO forces and NATO airfields. Sunni's don't slaughter Sunni's. If it were Kurd's-- well, that another sad story!
This was the end of 'Erdogans EU hopes', period! Never would the USSA allow their membership. Although Turkey was always considered a muslim nation from the beginning, therefore, it was put on the 'Suck-the-MF-dry', list of on/off client`Nation's"!
Listen... if your geography happens to be in the Middle-East, the probability of a successful democratic society are next to 'nil'! It just happens that dictatorships work better in the region and always will. just look at the politics of all ME demgraphics and the successful regimes are dictorial. The one exception is Iran! Yes, Iran has currently, since the revolution in 1980 broken the imperial-yoke of Amerikana Democracy which is very susceptible today in 'Mother USSA"!?!
The world's elitist at Bilderberg have discussed the toppling of the Erdogan regime for a decade now privately. This prime real estate that Erdogan controls is the most strategic geography in the modern world today. Erdogan has done nothing wrong except a few pogroms[?] here and there in Kurdish-ville over the last decade+/+... but compared to USSA aggressions it counts as a survivalist strategy. Kinda like the Hitlary killing of Libya and the immigration (the great exodus from africa to europe where ~200k have lost their lives at sea, not to mention the human-traffickers that take the thousands of naive-families paying-up for a safe journey only being disposed of mid-voyage at sea as human trash. Then returning for moar living dead never to exit the human tragedy bestowed on a country where ironically was run by a dictator, and yet did moar for its citizens tha the USSA does for its vet's living under our bridges.
jmo
Ps. So, Erdogan is a tyrant and bully? Think twice, before you leap at conclusions... because there are a myriad of reasons for his actions. Think the USSAs, diabolical "MO"!