According to the Doğan news agency, a person called the 155 police hotline in Tekirdağ’s Çorlu district and reported that construction worker F.E. insulted Erdoğan on his Facebook account. Police teams from the Çorlu District Police Department saw F.E.’s post on his social media account and detained him at his house in the Hürriyet neighborhood.
Following his testimony to police, the 17-year-old construction worker was referred to court and sent to Tekirdağ Closed Prison by a court on the charges of insulting President Erdoğan.
Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) defines the insulting of the president as a crime punishable by a prison sentence of up to four years.
A large number of people, including high school students, activists and even a former Miss Turkey, have been prosecuted for allegedly insulting Erdoğan on social media ever since he was elected head of state in August 2014. In particular, journalists critical of the government and public figures have been targeted by the police and prosecutors on the grounds that insulted the president.
According to a human rights report released by Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu on Dec. 5, more than 1,500 people have been sued by Erdoğan on libel charges and 400 more investigations are awaiting approval from the Justice Ministry.
