Three more journalists probed over Erdo?an 'insult'

The houses of two journalists in southern Turkey have been raided by police for ?insulting? President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an on Twitter, while another journalist has testified in Istanbul for committing the same alleged crime in his book.

According to the Çukurova Journalists Association, the police raided the houses of  Abdullah Özyurt, a Cihan News Agency correspondent in Adana, and Aytekin Gezici, a former journalist who now works at Seyhan Municipality, early March 19.

?I don?t think that there is any insult in the messages I shared on social media. I expressed my views and I did not name anyone in my criticism,? Özyurt said.

Gezici, on the other hand, claimed that the police raid was ?illegal? and that he was not notified of its reason. ?I did not insult anyone. In this country, there are people who are being investigated for sharing the Hadith [quotes from Prophet Muhammad],? he said.

The two journalists, who were not detained, have been called to testify at the Adana Police Department.

?Big Boss? in the spotlight

In a separate incident, journalist Mustafa Ho? testified to a prosecutor in Istanbul on March 18 on suspicions that he insulted Erdo?an in his book, titled ?Big Boss.?

?I am a journalist. I wrote this book in the scope of the freedom of the press. I have no intention to insult anyone. A public official?s threshold of tolerance for criticism should be above other people. The rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are in this direction,? Ho? told the prosecutor, according to Do?an News Agency.

Legal procedures against Ho? were launched after Erdo?an?s lawyer Ahmet Özel filed a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Prosecutor?s Office on March 9, claiming that his client?s personal...