Similarity of Lord of the Rings’ Gollum character with Erdoğan became a cause for suit

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Because no decision was reached in the fourth hearing of a case in which Aydın-based physician Dr. Bilgin Çiftçi was accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after sharing a meme comparing Erdoğan's facial expressions to the Gollum character in the “The Lord of the Rings” movies, a court has demanded an expert examination to investigate Gollum's character to decide whether a comparison with him is an insult. As “Armenpress” reports, Todays Zaman informs about the aforementioned.

In October 2015, Çiftçi was expelled from the Public Health Institution of Turkey (THSK) after sharing a meme that compared images of Erdoğan to the fictional character known for his grotesque appearance, showing them both eating, expressing surprise and amazement, thereby allegedly insulting the president.

The Sözcü daily reported on Tuesday that the Aydın 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance had decided to ask for an expert examination into the character of Gollum. The court will decide whether Erdoğan was insulted or not based on the results of the expert's examination. Çiftçi faces a prison sentence up to two years.

The court ordered that the investigation be conducted by a group composed of two academics, two behavioral scientists or psychologists and an expert on cinema and television productions.

The chief judge gave the decision after Hicran Danışman, a lawyer representing Çiftçi, asked him whether or not he had seen the movie series “The Lord of the Rings.” Saying that he had seen only seen parts of them, the chief judge postponed the hearing until Feb. 13, 2016. Danışman stated in a previous hearing that neither the prosecutor nor the chief judge had seen the movies, even though the character of Gollum was at the center of the case.

Çiftçi claimed that Gollum was not a bad character and that he did not insult anyone.