Man fined over $2400 for ‘insulting’ policeman in Turkey

KONYA – Doğan News Agency

A man has been fined more than 7,000 Turkish Liras (around $2400) for “insulting” an on-duty police officer during a basketball game, after the officer yelled at his nine-year-old boy with Down syndrome for accidentally hitting his pants. 

On Jan. 10, Mustafa Yıldız brought his wife and two children, including Emircan Yıldız, who suffers from Down syndrome, to watch a basketball game between Torku Konyaspor and Trabzonspor in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

The family sat among Trabzonspor fans, where a police officer, identified as R.G., was on duty.

According to reports, Emircan Yıldız left a mark on the officer’s pants after inadvertently hitting him a few times out of excitement, prompting the policeman to order Mustafa Yıldız to “take his child to the other side.”

“This is a special kid. Why are you acting like this? You ill-mannered man,” Yıldız reportedly said to the officer.

Yıldız filed a complaint against the officer after the game, saying the officer insulted him, which in turn led R.G. to press charges against the father. 

While dismissing Yıldız’s complaint for lack of adequate evidence, the court ruled that Yıldız insulted the police officer by calling him “ill-mannered.” Yıldız was sentenced to pay a fine totaling 7,080 liras, in addition to R.G.’s legal expenses, which was another 1,800 liras. The fine was postponed for five years and will be rescinded if Yıldız does not commit a crime during this period. 

“Emircan doesn’t know what it is to make something dirty because he is a special child. I reacted to the police officer because he made my son sad and made him cry. But I will appeal to a higher court to reverse this judgment,” Yıldız said, adding his son was traumatized by the incident.