Miss Turkey 2006 prosecuted for ‘insulting’ Erdogan

Model Merve Büyüksaraç faces trial for posting ‘The Poem of the Chief’ on Instagram.

Turkey has recently been drawing media attention over what is being perceived as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pivot towards theocratic tendencies in the secular Muslim country.

Now, the country seems to be tilting towards maintaining control on information dissemination on social media, keeping tabs on anything that may constitute as an ‘insult’ to Erdogan. In a recent display of impeding cyber freedom, a former Turkish beauty queen is being prosecuted for allegedly insulting Erdogan in a poem she shared on her Instagram account, reported Al-Arabiya News.

The poem, which was shared by Merve Büyüksaraç, a model who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, comprised lyrics from the Turkish national anthem and insults aimed at Erdogan. Testifying in front of an Istanbul prosecutor, Merve said she did not intend to insult the Turkish president. “I did not personally adapt the poem titled The Poem of the Chief. I shared it because it was funny to me. I did not intend to insult Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” she said in statements. She proclaimed that she deleted the post right after she was warned that it could result in prosecution.

The news comes in the wake of declining internet freedom in Turkey, with a 2014 report by US-based watchdog Freedom House rating the country as ‘Party Free’. Only last month, a Turkish court issued the release of a 16-year-old student who was arrested for ‘insulting’ the president, reported 124news.tv. Mehmet Emin Altunses was released after a complaint by his lawyer over his arrest in Konya.

Mehmet had delivered a speech in the city, which is the stronghold of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), where he allegedly accused Erdogan and his party of corruption. During interrogation, he denied having any political affiliation but confessed he had made the said statements. Although he was released, he remains accused of insulting Erdogan and will face a trial at an unspecified date. If he is convicted, he could be subjected to up to four years in prison.

The arrest surfaces as concerns rise about freedom of speech in Turkey under Erdogan’s regime, preceded by raids on opposition media associated with the president’s top rival, exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. But Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu expressed support for the court’s original decision to arrest the boy, stating, “Everyone must respect the office of president, whoever he is.”

Turkish authorities have often been under the gun for ordering blackouts of media coverage of controversial subjects. The country was panned worldwide after it temporarily blocked Twitter and YouTube last year, as the social media platforms were being used by Erdogan’s opponents to post allegations of corruption in his inner circle. The publication of reports, suggesting that Turkish intelligence services delivered arms to Syrian Islamist rebels last year, was also blocked recently.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2015.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.