Police are searching for protestors who booed the prime minister following the FIBA 2010 World Basketball Championship final in Istanbul after identifying them in security footage from the arena, private news site CNNTürk reported Saturday.
The Istanbul Police Sports Security unit asked for video footage of the ceremony held after the match between Turkey and the United States in Istanbul on Sept. 12. Twenty people were identified in the footage and one of them, a minor, was detained. He was later released after a court decision.
Erdoğan was booed at the award ceremony honoring the world's top two basketball teams. Politicians at the event reacted negatively to the jeering, while basketball players also criticized the protestors.
Team captain Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu, who plays for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA, apologized to the prime minister for the protest and center Semih Erden also criticized the act, saying sports should not be mixed with politics.
HUDSON NY EDITOR'S NOTE: This newspaper, Hurriyet (meaning Freedom), is about to be fined out of existence, unless it wins on appeal. And who controls the judiciary now ... ?
Strictly speaking, the Turkish constitution says this:
Article 25 Freedom of Thought and Opinion
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and opinion. No one shall be compelled to reveal his thoughts and opinions for any reason or purpose, nor shall anyone be blamed or accused on account of his thoughts and opinions.
Article 26 Freedom of Expression and Dissemination of Thought
(1) Everyone has the right to express and disseminate his thoughts and opinion by speech, in writing or in pictures or through other media, individually or collectively. This right includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without interference from official authorities. This provision shall not preclude subjecting transmission by radio, television, cinema, and similar means to a system of licensing.
(2) The exercise of these freedoms may be restricted for the purposes of protecting national security, public order and public safety, the basic characteristics of the Republic and safeguarding the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation, preventing crime, punishing offenders, withholding information duly classified as a state secret, protecting the reputation and rights and private and family life of others, or protecting professional secrets as prescribed by law, or ensuring the proper functioning of the judiciary.
(3) The formalities, conditions and procedures to be applied in exercising the right to expression and dissemination of thought shall be prescribed by law.
