A Turkish court has asked for experts to assess the character of Gollum, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in order to proceed with the trial of a man who is accused of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. The court therefore appointed a commission of experts – consisting of two universities, two psychologists and behavioral experts and a film expert to make the “investigation”.
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The judge in the case made the decision saying he had not seen the wildly popular movies.
The fate of a Turkish doctor is in the hands of experts who are tasked with determining whether he insulted the Turkish president by comparing him with the Gollum character from the “Lord of the Rings”.
Dr. Bilgin Ciftci, a physician, lost his job at Turkey’s Public Health Institution in October after sharing a series of photos showing the grotesque Gollum and Erdogan side by side in a number of similar poses.
Erdogan’s administration has been criticized for becoming increasingly intolerant of criticism.
Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey, with Mr Cifti facing two years in prison if convicted.
The fourth hearing will take place on February, 13, 2016.
“The prosecutor didn’t watch the movie and he defined Gollum as ‘the monster in a bad role, ‘” said Hicran Danisman, Ciftci’s lawyer.
If it finds in favour of Erdogan, Ciftci could face two years in prison.
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Ciftci has argued that Gollum is not a villain, so the meme does not insult the president – or anyone else. The country’s press freedom ranks 149th out of 180 nations.
