Detained over his post about AKP’s Zengin, lawyer arrested for ‘insulting President’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Lawyer Mert Yaşar has been arrested on charge of "insulting the President" shortly after he was taken into custody on the grounds of a social media post about ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair and Tokat MP Özlem Zengin.

Facing an investigation for "insulting the President" and "insulting a public official", Yaşar gave his statement at the press prosecutor's office.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Yaşar was first referred to the court with a request for his arrest. Appearing before the İstanbul Penal Judgeship of Peace on Duty, Yaşar has been arrested.

What happened?

Dismissing the allegations and criticisms about "strip search" in Turkey's prisons, ruling AKP's Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair and Tokat MP Özlem Zengin stated, "An honorable and moral woman would not wait for a year to announce it." She also said later, "These people are now having a baby upon instruction, there are women with babies in prison."

While these remarks sparked criticism on Twitter, lawyer Mert Yaşar was also among the ones who protested. Mentioning a tweet by Özlem Zengin, lawyer Yaşar tweeted, "If the Presidential cabinet is given the right of first night, will Özlem Zengin close her beak?"

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun made a call to legal bodies and said, "We demand that the independent Turkish judiciary punish this creature named Mert Yaşar in the severest way possible. What will the opposition do in the face of this dishonor? They will, most probably, hide their heads in the sand. We will follow it up."

Making a statement on February 22, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that an ex officio investigation was launched against Yaşar about the incident. The Security Branch teams of the İstanbul Security Directorate took the lawyer into custody from his house in Eyüpsultan district in İstanbul and searched his house on February 23. (TP/SD)