Turkey arrests TV journalist for insulting the president

According to her lawyer, a well-known Turkish journalist has been jailed pending trial for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

For comments she made, Turkish journalist Sedef Kabas could face four years in prison. (Photo Credits: Reuters

A proverb referring to an ox was cited on television and social media by Sedef Kabas. Since Erdogan became president in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister, thousands have been prosecuted for insults against him.

According to a tweet from her lawyer, Ugur Poyraz, she was formally arrested in Istanbul on Saturday while appearing at court. It was determined by the judge that she posed a flight risk.

Over his career spanning three decades, Kabas has hosted a number of TV shows of high profile. After making her remarks on Tele 1 and Twitter early Saturday, she was detained by police at her Istanbul home.

In contrast, opposition politicians defended Kabas' right to free speech. A maximum prison term of four years is imposed on the offense of insulting the president. Since 2014, the Justice Ministry reports that over 35,500 cases of insulting Erdogan have been filed, resulting in nearly 13,000 convictions.

There has been international pressure on Turkey to change the law. According to the European Court of Human Rights, a man was deprived of his freedom of expression in 2017 when he was detained under the insult law.

* This article contains information sourced from VOA.