Teen accused of insulting Erdogan is released
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 27 December, 2014, 4:56am
UPDATED : Saturday, 27 December, 2014, 4:56am
Associated Press in Ankara
A teenager know as M.E.A. addresses a gathering for secular education in Konya, Turkey. Turkish media reports say a teenager was taken away from his school and detained by police for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: AP
A high school student who was jailed for allegedly insulting Turkey's president was released from custody yesterday after his arrest caused uproar.
The 16-year-old boy was arrested on Wednesday, a day after he took part in a small left-wing student rally commemorating the death of a pro-secular army officer slain by Islamists 84 years ago.
The boy, who can only be identified by his initials M.E.A. because of Turkish law, made a speech during the rally in which he said the students didn't regard Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the president, but as the "thieving owner of the illegal palace," according to court papers.
His words referred to a vast government corruption scandal that has implicated members of Erdogan's family, as well as a controversial 1,150-room palace in the capital, Ankara, which Erdogan inaugurated in October.
The arrest of the boy at Meram Technical and Vocational high school in Konya, central Turkey, sparked an outcry, with opposition parties denouncing it as the latest example of the government's descent toward authoritarianism and its crackdown on dissent. Dozens of lawyers petitioned for his release.
A court agreed to free him from police custody yesterday. But it is a crime in Turkey to insult the president and the boy could face up to four years in prison if he is charged and convicted.
The student denied during questioning that his words were intended as an insult to Erdogan, according to the court papers.
"We are not terrorists," the boy said after his release. "When we took this path, we made a promise not to turn to back. We shall not yield to the fascist, unprogressive pressure."
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had defended the boy's detention, saying: "The presidential office needs to be shown respect, no matter who he is."
