Turkey has asked the Finnish government for help in prosecuting a man living in Finland who was accused of defaming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by posting offensive photos and comments on social media.
The Turkish government made the request shortly after the two countries signed a “memorandum of understanding” as part of Turkey’s agreement to allow Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance.
Part of the deal includes extradition requests from people suspected of involvement in terrorism in Finland and Sweden. According to Yle TV, the person accused of slandering Erdoğan is not on this list.
A Tampere city resident was accused of insulting Erdogan by posting defamatory photos and comments on Facebook in 2016. Turkey previously tried to extradite the man, but the request was denied in 2021.
A man with dual citizenship of Finland and Turkey, who has lived in Finland for decades, has been under investigation in Turkey since the end of 2016, but Ankara is now requesting a Finnish court to summon the man to trial.
Anger: Turkey goes to war for Erdogan, Charlie Hebdo’s new cartoon https://t.co/UJ9eryKHPH
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 28, 2020
Turkey’s previous requests had been rejected by Finnish courts on the grounds that assisting prosecutions in Turkey violated the principles of human rights and freedoms.
Last year, the Pirkanmaa District Court said the man’s social media posts could be considered rude, but the chances of a fair trial in Turkey were slim due to the political nature of the action.
It is not the first time that Erdogan and his government have demanded that those who insult the Turkish leader be prosecuted.
In 2016, Turkey called for German comedian Jan Bemermann to be prosecuted for a crude poem he recited on the comedian’s TV show. Neo Shop Royale Who attacked Erdogan?
Source: Breitbart
