Turkey: Journalist mocks charges with 'gibberish' column

Yavuz Baydar won the 2014 European Press Prize Special Award in recognition of his work promoting media freedom

An internationally acclaimed Turkish journalist has published a column full of gibberish in mockery of a criminal case against him.

Prosecutors accuse Yavuz Baydar of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in two columns published in the Bugun daily in August. In response, on Monday he wrote a piece headlined: "My presentation of the ideal column in the spirit of our time". After a brief introduction in which he reminds readers of the charges against him, the rest of his column is just a jumble of random letters and made-up words, including: "Voz voz voz voz!" and "Vadu vudu, vuduvuduvudu". Throwing in the odd phrase such as "in brief" and "lastly" for effect, one line sums up the article's message: "Blah blah blah". After regaling his readers with 400 words of gibberish, Baydar closes his column with the words: "Do you see what I mean?"

The veteran journalist denies that his August columns amounted to insults, saying he knows "very well the difference between an insult and criticism". Under Turkey's criminal code, anyone convicted of insulting the president can face up to four years in prison. Journalists critical of President Erdogan complain that the law is being used to silence them.

Baydar writes for both Bugun and Today's Zaman newspapers, both of which have been openly critical of the president. His is the latest in a string of newspaper protests by opposition media. A week ago, opinion writers at the Sozcu daily turned in blank columns to highlight restrictions on press freedom.

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