The 16 members of the Beyoğlu Troupe of Actors who were tried on charges of insult of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were aquitted.
The actors were facing imprisonment of two years each under allegations of "insult of a public official" on the grounds of the words "street vendor Tayyip" as part of one of the songs performed by the group. The Magistrate Criminal Court of Çatalca (Istanbul) held that the lyrics of the song did not contain any sort of insult.
The Beyoğlu Troupe emphasized in a statement made after the final hearing on 8 June that artists and writers have always paid the price in times of intense pressure.
"The Beyoğlu Troupe of Actors will continue what we do and we will carry on with representing the voice of the youth and the workers. We are not going to bend down to the ones who are trying to silence us". (ÇT/ŞA/VK)
