AN artist from the North-East has asked Tony Blair to intervene in a court case that could see him jailed for up to three years in Turkey.
Michael Dickinson, 56, has been warned he is likely to be charged for exhibiting a collage that depicts the Turkish Prime Minister as a dog being awarded a rosette by President Bush in a pet show.
Police in Istanbul seized Michael Dickinson's Best in Show, in which he superimposed the head of Recep Tayyip Erdogan on to a dog's body, from his exhibition in the city.
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He has been told that he is likely to be charged with "insulting the dignity of the Prime Minister". The show's organiser, Erkan Kara, will go on trial on September 12 on the same charge.
The case could embarrass Turkey and Britain as it raises questions about Turkey's human rights record as it seeks EU membership.
Speaking to The Northern Echo from his home in Turkey, Mr Dickinson said: "It is a ridiculous situation that someone else has been charged for this. It is my painting and I hung it up without any permission. I do not want someone to go to prison for me and I will take a stand based on maintaining artistic discretion.
"This is about freedom of speech and expression and if Turkey wants to join the EU, it should have a human rights record in line with other member states.
"I want Mr Blair to recognise this and help halt court cases like this against artists and writers."
Mr Dickinson, born in Durham, has lived in Turkey for 20 years, teaching English at Yeditepe University.
He spent most of his childhood in Kuwait, where his father worked for the Kuwait Oil Company.
He was educated at the Anglo-American School with his two brothers, and later at Fyling Hall Boarding School, in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, as well as Durham Technical College.
His exhibition was staged in Istanbul by the Global Peace and Justice Coalition. The collage, hung with anti-war images, refers to the Prime Minister having taken legal action over cartoons depicting him as various animals.
A spokesman for Downing Street said: "We have not received any correspondence from this individual and would not be able to comment on it."
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