I live in Turkey, and there is an article in the penal code here. This is:
\*Article 125\*
\*Insult\*
\*Any person who attributes an act, or fact, to a person in a manner that may impugn that person’s honour, dignity or prestige, or attacks someone’s honour, dignity or prestige by swearing shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of three months to two years or a judicial fine.\*
These laws are enforced. Approximately 1 million people are brought to criminal court each year on charges of insulting others. In criminal courts, more than half of the cases heard in a year are brought for insult charges, making it the most frequently committed crime. Even words that aren't usually very serious insults, like "idiot," are often interpreted as insulting.
Generally, most people prosecuted for this crime are charged because of what they wrote on social media, as proving an insult made in everyday life is very difficult.
Going to jail for this charge is quite rare; generally, 95%+ of the time, it's either a suspended sentence or a fine. But rarely, someone does go to jail for insulting someone.
There are also some people who abuse this. In Turkey, insult, unlike most other crimes (such as theft and murder), is a crime for which the victim must request a trial. Some famous people specifically search for people who insult them on social media, and when they find them, they report them, and then they get money from those people by saying, "If you pay me this much money, I will drop the complaint, so you won't have a criminal record." In this way, there are people who make money from the insults directed at them.
I'm curious, is insulting someone a crime in Europe in general, and does it lead to such consequences?