Turkish journalist Sedef Kabas has been detained for what the authorities consider an “insult” against Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sedef Kabas said this proverb during a talk show on television: “When the ox enters the palace, it does not become king, but the palace becomes a stable“.
Kabas’ lawyer has confirmed on social media the arrest and filing of charges against the journalist. The arrest was requested by the Prosecutor’s Office, after the words of the journalist, a famous interviewer, will cause a campaign of attacks against her in networks social and pro-government media.
During that gathering, in which the president’s management was being analyzed, the journalist used another proverb, without expressly mentioning Erdogan’s name or his position, which says: “a crowned head will be wiser”, to which she added: ” We see that it is not true”, something that the Prosecutor’s Office has interpreted as an attack on the head of state.
Even before the arrest, the Minister of Justice, Abdulhamit Gul, had condemned the “ugly words that targeted the president” and warned that those “expressions of hate” would find “the answer before the Justice”.
In recent years, numerous citizens have been sentenced for insulting the president, sometimes even simply for having spread texts from others on social networks that did not even mention Erdogan’s name. In Turkey, heInsults against the president are punishable by up to four years in prison.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
