To most citizens in Turkey, “Article 299”, which criminalises insulting the president, signifies a legal jeopardy to be scrupulously avoided. But for R.K., a homeless man who was facing another harsh winter on the Mediterranean coast, it has come to represent a guaranteed path to a warm bed and three meals a day.
Police officers detained 66-year-old R.K. in Sadullahoglu Park, in the southern resort town of Alanya, after he was reported for shouting insults directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the fourth time that he had been arrested for the offence.
Brought before a local court, his testimony exposed stark realities that leave gaping holes in Turkey's social safety net. The court promptly ordered that R.K. be remanded in pre-trial detention, local news portal Yeni Alanya reported on October 14.
"I have nowhere to stay; I sleep in garbage dumps," he reportedly told the court, adding: "That is why I resorted to this."
Since Turkey transitioned to an executive presidency in 2018, the number of public prosecutor investigations into alleged insults thrown at Erdogan have surged past 200,000 cases. Breaching the penal code’s Article 299 triggers prison sentences ranging from one to four years. The article has become one of the most frequently invoked statutes in the judicial system.
The volume of cases stands in stark contrast to what was experienced under previous administrations. During Abdullah Gul’s presidency (2007-2014), prosecutors opened just 848 cases over insulting the president. Under Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000-2007), the figure was 163, while the Turgut Ozal years (1989-1993) saw 207 cases.
While human rights advocates routinely criticise today’s high volume of prosecutions for insulting the head of state as an erosion of free speech, the story of R.K. and his recurring arrests point to a different, unintended consequence. In an era of severe economic hardship for so many in Turkey, the regime’s strict legal intolerance has inadvertently created a perverse sanctuary for those with nowhere left to turn.