After concluding that a man's incarceration under the statute breached his freedom of expression, Europe's top human rights court urged Turkey to alter a rule addressing insulting the president, under which tens of thousands have been punished.
In 2017, Vedat Sorli received an 11-month suspended sentence for posting a caricature and photograph of President Tayyip Erdogan on Facebook, along with satirical and critical comments.
According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Sorli's detention and pre-trial arrest, as well as the application of a criminal sentence, were not justified.
The report stated that its very nature, such a sanction had a chilling effect on the desire of the person concerned to share his or her views on subjects of public interest.
The court also stated that the criminal proceedings against Sorli were "incompatible with freedom of expression."
In the seven years after Erdogan's transition from prime minister to Turkey's president, thousands have been tried and imprisoned for criticising him.
According to Justice Ministry data, 31,297 investigations into the charge were begun in 2020, 7,790 cases were filed, and 3,325 instances ended in convictions. These figures were marginally lower than the year before.
Since Turkey's Erdogan took office in 2014, there have been 160,169 investigations against insulting the president, 35,507 prosecutions filed, and 12,881 convictions.
According to Demirtas' counsel, a court sentenced pro-Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas to three and a half years in prison for insulting Erdogan in a high-profile case earlier this year.
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