Renowned Turkish thespian Orhan Aydın has been handed down a prison sentence of 11 months, 20 days on charges of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Aydın announced from his Twitter account on Thursday.
Aydın was given the sentence, which was not suspended, due to a speech he made at a ceremony in Kuşadası in 2017 in which he referred to Erdoğan as a “sham dictator.”
Aydın said he would appeal the ruling at a higher court.
Thousands of people in Turkey are under investigation, and most of them are under the threat of imprisonment, over alleged insults of President Erdoğan. The insult cases generally stem from social media posts shared by Erdoğan opponents. The Turkish police and judiciary perceive even the most minor criticism of Erdoğan or his government as an insult.