Istanbul: A well-known Turkish journalist has been jailed for insulting the president Risp Tayip Erdogan, said his lawyer.
Sedef Kabas was taken into custody after he cited a saying on television and social media referring to a bull. Under the insult law, tens of thousands have been prosecuted for targeting Erdogan since he became president in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.
his lawyer, Ugur Poyarazutweeted that he was formally arrested during a court appearance in Istanbul on Saturday. The judge accepted the prosecution’s argument that he had taken a flight risk.
Kabas, 53, has hosted several high-profile TV shows in a career spanning three decades.
Police took him into custody at his home in Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday following his comments on Tele1 and Twitter.
Government figures condemned Kabas, while opposition politicians defended his right to free speech.
“Insulting our country’s elected President in an ugly and obscene manner is truly an attack on the national will,” tweeted. Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chief of the ruling party.
opposition party leader Meral Exner Hashtag used in support of Kabas. “This mentality will go away and justice will come again in Turkey,” she wrote.
The charge of insulting the President carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
More than 35,500 cases of insult have been registered since 2014 erdoganAccording to figures from the Ministry of Justice, that resulted in about 13,000 convictions.
Turkey has come under international pressure to change the law. In October, the European Court of Human Rights said that a person’s freedom of expression was violated when he was detained under a derogation law in 2017.
Sedef Kabas was taken into custody after he cited a saying on television and social media referring to a bull. Under the insult law, tens of thousands have been prosecuted for targeting Erdogan since he became president in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.
his lawyer, Ugur Poyarazutweeted that he was formally arrested during a court appearance in Istanbul on Saturday. The judge accepted the prosecution’s argument that he had taken a flight risk.
Kabas, 53, has hosted several high-profile TV shows in a career spanning three decades.
Police took him into custody at his home in Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday following his comments on Tele1 and Twitter.
Government figures condemned Kabas, while opposition politicians defended his right to free speech.
“Insulting our country’s elected President in an ugly and obscene manner is truly an attack on the national will,” tweeted. Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chief of the ruling party.
opposition party leader Meral Exner Hashtag used in support of Kabas. “This mentality will go away and justice will come again in Turkey,” she wrote.
The charge of insulting the President carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
More than 35,500 cases of insult have been registered since 2014 erdoganAccording to figures from the Ministry of Justice, that resulted in about 13,000 convictions.
Turkey has come under international pressure to change the law. In October, the European Court of Human Rights said that a person’s freedom of expression was violated when he was detained under a derogation law in 2017.
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