ISTANBUL – Former Turkey soccer star Hakan Sukur goes on trial on Thursday at an Istanbul court in absentia on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media.
Sukur is one of several thousand people, including journalists, politicians and the occasional celebrity, to face legal proceedings on hugely controversial accusations of insulting the Turkish leader.
The lawyer of Sukur, one of the stars of Turkey’s third-place performance in the 2002 World Cup, tells the court that his client has moved to the United States.
Ali Onur Guncel says his client could give testimony from the United States if evidence provided by the defense was found to be insufficient.
According to Turkish media, Sukur accused Erdogan of theft in a tweet in February 2015, without naming him directly.
Prosecutors ask in the indictment for Sukur to serve up to four years in jail.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
