Referee To İnvestigate Gollum Over Probe For İnsulting Erdoğan

Turkish court decided to investigate fictional character Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" series, in pursuit of a probe against a doctor for insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan by comparing his facial expressions with the characher in a meme.

Dr Bilgin Çiftçi based in Aegean province of Aydın has been accused of "insulting a public official" with this meme that he has shared through his personal Facebook account.

The court decided that an investigation by the referee regarding whether Gollum is a bad character will be necessary, while the trial was reprieved, in its fourth round that has taken place on Dec. 1.

Dr Bilgin Çiftçi, worked as doctor for 23 years, has been barred from the family health hospital where he had been working over the accusations of "insulting statesmen".

Saving the pride of Gollum

Meanwhile, lawyers of the case presented a research report that was carried out through internet, where poll results evaluate if Gollum is a good, bad, ugly or suffering character with different options in the survey form. The survey was conducted by a health union.

The lawyer of Çiftçi said the case has turned into "a case of saving the pride of Gollum".

Referees will include two psychologists or behavioral scientists, and an expert working on cinema-television pieces.

Bilgin said he has found the decision fairly shocking.

(Photo) - Aydın