Artist Arrested in Turkey for Displaying Political Art

ISTANBUL—U.K. artist Michael Dickinson has been arrested and placed in custody after displaying a poster depicting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a dog on a leash made from the American flag, reports The Northern Echo. Dickinson showed the copy of his painting Good Boy outside an Instanbul court after learning that a previous charge against him for exhibiting a similar collage at an art exhibition was dropped. That work, Best in Show, featured Erdogan as a dog in a pet show being awarded a rosette by U.S. President George Bush.

Dickinson, also a writer, playwright, and actor, has lived in Turkey for 20 years and established the Istanbul branch of the Stuckist art movement. The co-founder of the Stuckist movement, Charles Thompson, has written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asking for assistance in the matter. Thompson stated, "This kind of satire is of course commonplace commentary in this country, and it is intolerable that a country applying for EU membership should censor freedom of political comment in this way."

A spokesman for the British Government said the Foreign Office is aware of the incident and notes, "We have offered consulate assistance to Mr. Dickinson in the past. We haven't had any contact since November 2006, but we stand ready to provide consulate assistance if requested again."