Detained after saying bread 'basic food for stupid societies,' union head remanded in custody

Bread Producers Union Chair Cihan Kolivar has been remanded in custody for "insulting the president" in an investigation launched after his remarks during a TV program on Monday (October 7).

Discussing bread prices on Habertürk TV, he had said, "Bread is the basic food for stupid societies. I'm speaking something scientific, not from memory. In Türkiye, bread consumption per capita is 210 kilos. It's 45-50 kilos in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Japan. Our society eats bread and therefore they have such rulers for as long as 20 years." 

Prosecutors the next day opened an investigation against Kolivar for "degrading the Turkish nation and state" and the police detained him.

Kolivar was remanded in custody yesterday after appearing before a judge.

His arrest was not because of "insulting the Turkish nation" but of "insulting the president," revealed Bilge Çiftçi, his daughter and lawyer.

Kolivar's old tweets were also included in the investigation file, and the court ordered his arrest for "insulting the president" because of those tweets, she explained.

"The statements in the tweets are not targeting any person directly. They are general expressions however they were interpreted as 'insult to the president' and included in the investigation file and this was the applicable article for the arrest. Of course we do not accept the accusations. There is no insulting or degrading. We will file our appeal," she told reporters in front of the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. (PE/VK)