The Swedish journalist Joakim Medin has just received an 11-month and seven-day suspended prison sentence for insulting Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, through his journalism.
A judge in Ankara has decided this, writes the Swedish media ETC, which Medin works for.
This means that Medin will not serve the sentence as long as he does not do anything illegal in Turkey for the next five years.
Joakim Medin traveled to Istanbul on March 27 to cover the massive protests in the country when he was arrested at the airport.
Medin was one of 15 suspects in an investigation that began after a doll depicting Erdogan was hanged outside Stockholm City Hall in 2023.
Even though Medin has now received his sentence, he can’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. He is also accused of having links to the terrorist group PKK – that trial has not yet begun.
In his concluding remarks, Joakim Medin said in court:
“I didn’t insult the president. I did my job. I will be acquitted.
