(Photo: Shatterstock)
Sadaf Kabas, a journalist and senior correspondent for the Turkish channel “Tele 1”, was arrested last night (Sunday) after “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a program she presented. Cabas is expected to stand trial, and could face up to 4 years in prison.
The incident in question took place last night during a news broadcast by the channel affiliated with the Turkish opposition. Cabas said that “when a bull enters a palace he does not become a king – but the palace becomes a barn,” and later tweeted the phrase on her Twitter page. Following her remarks, police forces arrived at her home in the middle of the night and took her into custody.
Erdogan’s spokesman said in response to the incident that “the honor of the president is the honor of our country. I condemn this vulgar statement.” On the other hand, the editor-in-chief of the news channel attacked Erdogan and the police and called for her immediate release. “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.”
It is estimated that thousands of Turkish citizens have so far been charged and imprisoned for insulting Erdogan during his seven years as President of Turkey. Last October, the European Court of Human Rights called on Turkey to change its laws on the subject, after it was ruled that the detention of a person under the law constitutes a “violation of freedom of expression”.
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