Two detained over sexist remarks against Başak Demirtaş

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Two people have been detained over sexist tweets against Başak Demirtaş, the spouse of Selahattin Demirtaş, the imprisoned former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Sakarya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office yesterday (June 14) announced that V.Y. was detained after tweets posted from "vedatmuti7" account. Later in the day, his step-uncle V.M. was also detained.

The now-suspended account had a "green ball" emoji, which is used by the supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Though whether he has a relation to the party has not been clarified by authorities.

Tweets against Demirtaş caused outrage on social media, with opposition politicians, including Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu and CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's wife Selvi Kılıçdaroğlu, announcing support for her.

Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül also denounced the incident.

In a tweet, Başak Demirtaş thanked everyone for "solidarity." (EMK/VK)