Erdoğan-Gollum comparison trials

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, has been compared to Gollum—a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings and its film adaptations—in social media posts, which has led to several trials for insulting the president in the 2010s and 2020s in Turkey.

Erdoğan in 2011

Statue of Gollum at Wellington Airport, New Zealand

Background

See also: Censorship in Turkey and Lèse-majesté

Under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, it is a punishable offense to insult the president;^[1][2] a violation can lead to a prison sentence of up to four years.^[3][4]

Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels, introduced in The Hobbit and given a major role in its sequel The Lord of the Rings.^[5] He subsequently appeared in the film adaptations as a pale-skinned creature wearing only a loincloth, played by actor Andy Serkis via motion capture.^[5][6] Although portrayed as a purely malevolent creature in The Hobbit, the later books gave him a more complex backstory, revealing that he had once been a hobbit named Sméagol who underwent a transformation through the supernatural influence of the One Ring.^[7][8]

Trials

Rifat Çetin trial

In 2014, while Erdoğan was Prime Minister of Turkey, Rifat Çetin shared a Facebook post that included three photographs of Gollum beside three photographs of Erdoğan with similar facial expressions.^[9][10] In 2016 a court in Antalya delivered Çetin a suspended sentence of one year and the loss of his parental custody rights; he stated that he planned to appeal the decision, as Erdoğan was not a president at the time of the Facebook post.^[3][9] Çetin was acquitted on appeal in April 2017.^[11]

Bilgin Çiftçi trial

In August 2014, physician and civil servant Bilgin Çiftçi also shared an image comparing Erdoğan to Gollum.^[12] The post led to his dismissal from public service in October 2015.^[8][12][13] In December 2015, Çiftçi was formally charged, with the prosecution demanding a sentence of up to two years in prison.^[13] Çiftçi's lawyer argued that what her client did was protected speech, but this was ruled out by the court.^[13][14][15] The lawyer then argued that Gollum was not a bad character, following which the court in Aydın established an expert committee to investigate whether the comparison was an insult.^[13][14] The panel of expert witnesses was to consist of a film and television expert, two academics and two behavioral scientists or psychologists.^[16][17][18] The trial was adjourned until February 2016.^[19][1][15]

The case received global attention, with the director of The Lord of the Rings films, Peter Jackson, and the screen writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens releasing a joint statement on the trial in December 2015.^[20] The statement argued that the images posted by Çiftçi actually depicted Sméagol, the joyful and helpful alter-ego of Gollum, and that the two characters should not be confused.^[21][19] US comedian and television host Stephen Colbert staged a show during which he performed as Çiftçi's lawyer dressed as actor Gregory Peck in the film To Kill A Mockingbird, demanding Çiftçi's release.^[22]

An initial evaluation prepared in April 2016 by three experts was deemed insufficient as it was not delivered in only one file.^[23] The second report, prepared by a clinical psychologist, a psychologist and an assistant professor of the Istanbul Bilgi University, was delivered in July and described Gollum as an oppressed and victimized personality, taking into account that Gollum returned to the original alter-ego Sméagol when he began to accompany the other hobbits.^[23] The experts examined relevant passages of the book and the film to come to their conclusion.^[24] In April 2017, Çiftçi was acquitted.^[25]

Barbaros Şansal trial

 

Barbaros Şansal in 2017

In December 2021, fashion designer Barbaros Şansal was sentenced to one year and two months in prison for having retweeted the photographs posted by Bilgin Çiftçi.^[26] Şansal claimed that he had retweeted the post only after he had heard the decision of the court that Gollum is "a helpful and good character".^[26] Erdoğan's lawyer appealed the verdict, demanding a higher sentence. However, in December 2022 the judges overturned the original prison sentence, as Şansal had already been tried on the same charge, and the case remained under review.^[26]

References

1. Ripl, Kryshta. "A Doctor Could Go to Jail for Comparing the Turkish President to Gollum | Studio 360". WNYC. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
2. Scott, Alev (6 July 2016). "Turkey's Ugly War on Free Speech". Newsweek. from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
3. "Suspended jail sentence for comparing Turkish president to Gollum". The New Zealand Herald. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
4. "In Erdogan insult case, Turkish court asks: is 'Hobbit' character Gollum evil?". Reuters. 2 December 2015. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
5. Child, Ben (29 October 2012). "Hobbit release marked with giant Gollum sculpture at Wellington airport". The Guardian. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
6. Serkis, Andy (2003). Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic. London: HarperCollins. pp. 58, 59. ISBN 0-618-39104-5. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via Internet Archive. These clothes would eventually become a ragged loincloth that hangs by a thread on Gollum's emaciated body. (...) then Peter applied a pallid skin tone to wash out my skin color,
7. "Peter Jackson zu Gollum-Erdogan-Vergleich: Eine Beleidigung? Aber nicht doch" [Peter Jackson on Gollum-Erdogan comparison: An insult? Not really.]. Der Spiegel (in German). 4 December 2015. ISSN 2195-1349. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
8. Tremblay, Pinar (7 December 2015). "Is Gollum good? Turkish judge consults 'TV expert' to find out - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
9. "Turkey guilty verdict for depicting Erdogan as Gollum". BBC News. 23 June 2016. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
10. Iyengar, Rishi (24 June 2016). "Turkish Man Given Suspended Sentence for Comparing President to Gollum". Time. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
11. "Turkey acquits person, who compared Erdoğan to Gollum". news.am. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
12. "Expertise Report in Gollum Case: He is a Good Hobbit at Heart". Bianet. 13 April 2016. from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
13. Orucoglu, Berivan. "It Is, By Far, The Worst Time to Be a Turkish Journalist". Foreign Policy. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
14. Kienzl, Philipp (3 December 2015). "Garstiger, kleiner Erdoğan möchte kein Gollum sein". Die Zeit. from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
15. Johnston, Jules (2 December 2015). "Recep Tayyip Erdo-Gollum?". Politico. from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
16. Barnett, David (3 December 2015). "Is being compared to Gollum the ultimate insult... or precious praise?". The Guardian. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
17. Jordan, Kendall. "Gollum on trial: Is comparison a crime?". HP Bagpipe. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
18. Kaplan, Sarah. "A Turkish court appointed five 'Lord of the Rings' experts to figure out whether this Gollum meme is offensive". The Washington Post. from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
19. "Peter Jackson zu Gollum-Erdogan-Vergleich: Eine Beleidigung? Aber nicht doch". Der Spiegel (in German). 4 December 2015. ISSN 2195-1349. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
20. Otterson, Joe (2 December 2015). "Peter Jackson to Turkish Court: Pictures Are Smeagol, Not Gollum". TheWrap. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
21. Shaheen, Kareem (3 December 2015). "Erdoğan's 'Gollum insult' a mistake, says Lord of the Rings director". The Guardian. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
22. Burris, Sarah (9 December 2015). "Stephen Colbert -- "Gollum expert" and Tolkien geek -- just saved a Turkish man's life with Lord of the Rings nerdery". Salon. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
23. "Gollum Was a Victim, say Experts in Erdoğan Defamation Case". Bianet. 23 September 2016. from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
24. Sharma, Suraj (18 April 2018). "Gollum 'not evil' say Turkish experts, over Erdogan comparison controversy". Middle East Eye. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
25. "Turkish doctor acquitted of insulting Erdogan with Gollum comparison". Middle East Eye. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
26. "Verdict for Şansal for 'insulting President with Gollum' overturned by Regional Court". Bianet. 9 January 2023. from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.