5 Arrested in Urfa over Insulting President

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Five of the six people detained over insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and “terror propaganda” have been arrested in Urfa.

According to news of Evrensel daily, police launched operation on allegation of “terror organization propaganda” and “insulting the President” in Turkey’s southeastern Hilvan district of Urfa province. R.T., Y.T., M.T., H.C., A.T. and M.T detained last morning (April 13) have been referred to court. Five of them have been arrested while A.T. has been released.

İstanbul 43rd Criminal Court of First Instance had applied to the Constitutional Court to annul the criminal code regulating the crime of insulting against the president alleging it violates the principle of equality.

Seven arrests, 105 cases of insulting Erdoğan in seven months

Ministry of Justice replying the application of information by Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul MP, Melda Onur as to the cases of “insulting the President”, informed that during former President Abdullah Gül’s term of seven years 1,359 demand for bill of complaints reached; 545 of them accepted but no arrest took place; during Erdoğan’s term of seven months 236 demand for bill of complaints reached; 105 of them accepted, and eight people have been arrested.

Erdoğan cases have increased by 500%

Assist. Prof. Dr. Kerem Altıparmak from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Science who was the first to bring the comparison between former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Erdoğan, wrote that compared to Sezer who was subjected to 26 cases in 2007, Erdoğan cases marked a 500% increase. (EA/TK)