The crime of insult and the concept of publicity

The crime of libel, which is the subject of our study, is listed in articles 125-131 under the heading of "Crimes Against Honour" in the "Crimes Against the Person" section of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237. In our thesis study, common libel crimes that are regulated under articles 125-131 of the legal arrangements are discussed. In addition, this study aims to focus on the element of publicity in the crime of libel, which is regarded as one of the qualified forms of libel crime. The crime of libel is closely connected with fundamental human rights and freedoms such as freedom of thought and expression, the duty of the press, and the right to criticize. Although the use of these rights within the specified criteria is accepted as a reason for compliance with the law, these rights are not unlimited; hence determining the framework of these limits is the subject of our study. Besides these; our study aims to make a scientific contribution to the criminal justice system, by seeking solutions by examining the decisions of the Supreme Court and hopefully helping the practitioners in the field.