(Bloomberg) — A journalist was arrested and charged with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a ruling by Istanbul’s Criminal Court of Peace, state news agency Anadolu and Demiroren news agency reported.
Sedef Kabas, 52, was detained after a prosecutor opened a probe into her comments on a television broadcast and in a Twitter post, Demiroren said.
Prior to the court decision, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said in a tweet that “these unlawful statements will get what they deserved.”
Insulting the president carries a prison sentence of as long as 4 years under the Turkish penal code. Tens of thousands of people have been investigated for insulting the president in recent years.
Turkey imprisoned 18 journalists in 2021, out of 293 that were jailed worldwide, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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