“Insulting the President” Arrests Continue in Kocaeli

Buğra Aydoğan, member of United June Movement as well as Freedom and Solidarity Party, has been detained for charges related to “insulting the president”  after his apartment being raided as of this morning in the northwestern district of Gebze, Kocaeli. 

While he was arrested in the afternoon, Aydoğan marked the forth member of United June Movement after Onur Kılıç, Kadir Yavaş and Şafak Kurt who have been arrested in the past week for similar charges. 

“Police came to our apartment early morning and asked him for his statement,” Fatma Aydoğan, his mother, said. “He wasn’t treated badly. We went to Gebze District Police Station. They started a judicial process.”  

Buğra Aydoğan, on the other hand, sent the following tweets:

“I was detained by the police who came to my office. It is about insulting the president. Right now, we are at the hospital. I will be taken to Gebze District Police Station. The explained reason is shouting the slogan ‘Thief Murderer Erdoğan on the streets of Gebze. We are heading to the police station now. It will be good to remind again: THIEF MURDERER ERDOĞAN!”

On the other hand, activist Fırat Eskici has been detained for the same charges in the early morning in Istanbul’s Fatih district and released after his statement. 

3 defendants arrested 

Following the arrest of Onur Kılıç on Friday for charges related violating Turkish Penal Code Article 299 on “insulting the president” of shouting the slogan “Thief murderer Erdoğan”, Kadir Yavaş has also been arrested in the northwestern province of Edirne.

On Saturday, university student Şafak Kurt has been arrested in the western district of Akhisar, Manisa after saying “I am committing the same crime”. (AS/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.