Dilruba Kayserilioğlu, who was arrested on Aug 12 after expressing her opinion during a vox pop about a recent ban on Instagram, has been released.
Kayserilioğlu was released from İzmir’s Şakran Prison around 9 pm local time yesterday. However, her family was not informed of the release in advance, which led to difficulties for the women reaching home due to the remote location of the prison, according to reporting from Halk TV.
“She had to walk along a dark, deserted road, eventually waiting at a bus stop where she borrowed a phone from a passerby to call her mother,” explained Yağmur Beril Varol, a reporter for Halk TV.
Opposition leader’s visit
The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, welcomed the release on social media.
“Dilruba Kayserilioğlu, whom I visited in prison yesterday, was released last night,” he wrote. “While I am glad that she has regained her freedom, I believe she should never have been detained in the first place. The events surrounding her case have caused significant harm to our legal system and democracy.”
He further emphasized his party’s commitment to establishing a democracy where no citizen is deprived of their freedom for expressing their thoughts.
Background
Dilruba Y. was arrested on Aug 12 due to her remarks about the recent ban on Instagram in the interview. "If you abolish the parliamentary system and hand over the entire Republic of Turkey to a single person in the 21st century, he will treat it like his father's farm,” she had said.
Turkey imposed a temporary ban on Instagram earlier this month following the platform’s restriction of messages from Turkish government officials honoring the assassinated Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Following her detention, she was subsequently arrested on charges of "inciting hatred and enmity among the public" and “insulting the president.” (VK)