A Turkish court has ordered journalist Sedef Kabash to be held in detention pending trial for using a proverb to insult Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In Turkey, a journalist was detained after tweeting a Sadaf Kabas, a Turkish journalist and senior correspondent for “Tele 1,” was arrested on Sunday for “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a program she hosted. Cabas is expected to face charges and might face up to four years in prison if convicted.
The incident in question occurred last night (Sunday) during a news broadcast by a Turkish opposition-affiliated channel. “When a bull enters a palace, he does not become a king – but the palace becomes a barn,” Cabas stated, and afterwards tweeted the statement. Following her comments, police officers showed up at her home in the middle of the night and arrested her.
“The honor of the president is the honor of our country,” Erdogan’s spokesman said in response to the event, adding “I condemn this vulgar statement.”
The news channel’s editor-in-chief, on the other side, criticized Erdogan and the police and demanded that she be released immediately.
Gece 02.00’de gözaltına alınan Sedef Kabaş adliyeye sevk edildi
— Tele1 TV (@tele1comtr) January 22, 2022
“Her arrest, made in the middle of the night because of an expression she said, is unacceptable. This trial is an attempt to intimidate journalists, the media and the public.”
Thousands of Turkish individuals are believed to have been charged and imprisoned for insulting Erdogan during his seven years as President.
After ruling that incarceration under the statute constitutes a “violation of freedom of expression,” the European Court of Human Rights called on Turkey to reform its laws on the topic last October.
Sedef Kabash faces charges under Turkish Penal Code Article 299, which forbids insulting Turkey’s President. A violation of it carries a sentence of one to four years in prison.
In court, Kabash refused to plead guilty.
Image Credit: Getty
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