One person arrested for insulting Esra Albayrak and her family on social media

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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One person has been arrested in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Mersin on the ground that he made insulting comments under the Twitter message where Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak announced the birth of their fourth child with Esra Albayrak, who is also the daughter of President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

As part of an investigation conducted by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the suspect was detained by the Anti-Cyber Crimes Bureau of the Mersin Provincial Security Directorate on June 30.

After the related formalities were completed at the Security Directorate, the suspect was first interrogated by the prosecutor's office, then referred to the penal judgeship of peace on duty to be arrested. The judgeship has ruled for his arrest. The suspect was arrested yesterday (July 1).

Another investigation in İstanbul

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also announced that it launched an ex officio investigation into the insulting social media messages about Esra and Berat Albayrak and their family. The suspects are charged with "insulting a public official," the Office said.

Releasing a written statement, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office indicated that "based on an open source examination, it was understood that comments that could be regarded as insults had been shared about Minister Berat Albayrak himself and his family."

Accordingly, the Office has announced that an ex officio investigation has been launched against the suspects for "insulting a public official."

Insults condemned by political figures

Shortly after these messages were shared on social media, several people, both from the ruling party and the opposition circles, expressed solidarity with Esra Albayrak and condemned the insults on social media.

Having faced a sexist attack herself on social media not long ago, Başak Demirtaş, the wife of imprisoned former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, tweeted a brief message and said, "I condemn the ugly remarks targeting Esra Albayrak. We have to struggle against this aggression towards women all together."

Main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu, CHP's current and former MPs Faik Öztrak, Aykut Erdoğdu and Muharrem İnce, İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener, Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş as well as AKP's former senior figures Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoğlu, now the Chairs of DEVA and Future parties, were also among the ones who condemned the insulting messages. (EKN/SD)