17-year-old arrested in Turkey’s north for ‘insulting Erdoğan’

A 17-year-old construction worker in the Thracian province of Tekirdağ was arrested on Dec. 28 for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on social media.

Police was informed of a boy identified only by the initials F.E. who “insulted Erdoğan” in a post he shared on his Facebook account. F.E. was detained at this home in the Çorlu district following a police investigation into the post. 

A local court ruled for the arrest of F.E. on the grounds of “insulting Erdoğan” and he was transferred to Tekirdağ closed prison.

Reports have said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Since Erdoğan was elected as president last August, his lawyers have filed dozens of cases against alleged “insults” targeting him. 

In recent months, a schoolboy was detained by police in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri for allegedly “insulting” Erdoğan, though the boy was released when the court determined that he was only 14.

In addition, a man was also sentenced to electronically monitored home arrest for allegedly defaming Erdoğan following a prosecutor’s objection to his release after he was detained over the same charge.