Erdoğan–Gollum comparison trials

[3][4] Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels, introduced in The Hobbit and given a major role in its sequel The Lord of the Rings.

[9][10] In 2016 a court in Antalya delivered Çetin a suspended sentence of one year and the loss of his parental custody rights; he stated that he planned to appeal the decision, as Erdoğan was not a president at the time of the Facebook post.

[19][1][15] The case received global attention, with the director of The Lord of the Rings films, Peter Jackson, and the screen writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens releasing a joint statement on the trial in December 2015.

[20] The statement argued that the images posted by Çiftçi actually depicted Sméagol, the joyful and helpful alter-ego of Gollum, and that the two characters should not be confused.

[25] In December 2021, fashion designer Barbaros Şansal was sentenced to one year and two months in prison for having retweeted the photographs posted by Bilgin Çiftçi.