A TURKISH PHYSICIAN is sweating on whether he’ll be sent to jail for publishing a photo comparing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Gollum.
Dr Bilgin Ciftci thought the resemblance was uncanny and plenty of Twitter users seemed to agree. The meme caught on.
The Turkish president wasn’t impressed, or flattered. And now the Aydin 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance is working through the technicalities of whether comparing the president to Gollum could be considered an insult.
If it finds in favour of Erdogan, Ciftci could face two years in prison.
The local Sozcu daily reports two academics, two behavioral scientists or psychologists, and an expert on cinema and television productions are examining if the resemblance is there.
Here is Ciftci’s post:
A.Kadir Yildirim / Twitter
A.Kadir Yildirim / Twitter / Twitter
After three hearings, they’re still undecided.
The prosecutor and the chief judge reportedly couldn’t make a decision because they hadn’t seen “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Hobbit” movies.
Ciftci has taken the defence line that Gollum is not actually a villain, so there’s no insult implied.
He even took the step of canvassing his Facebook followers:
The fourth hearing will take place on 13 February next.
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