Turkish journalist Sedef Kabas was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention on Saturday for "
insulting the president
" after she quoted a proverb on television interpreted as targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the journalist's lawyer announced.
Read alsoFrom K-pop to Turkish Islamic schools: diving into the heart of “wars of influence”
“
There is a very famous proverb, which says that the crowned head becomes wiser. But we see that is not true. The beef does not become king by entering the palace, but the palace becomes a stable
,” said the journalist, well known in Turkey, live on the Tele1 channel on Friday. Sedef Kabas had also published this "
Circassian proverb
" in stride on her Twitter account, where she is followed by nearly 900,000 subscribers.
Arrested overnight from Friday to Saturday at her home in Istanbul, the journalist was questioned and then placed in pre-trial detention, her lawyer, Ugur Poyraz, said on Saturday evening. “
I curse the ugly words that target our president
,” Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül reacted on Twitter. "
The arrest of Sedef Kabas for 'insulting the president' is a serious attack on freedom of expression
," commented the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS).
NGOs regularly denounce violations of press freedom in Turkey, in particular since an attempted putsch in 2016 which was followed by the arrest of dozens of journalists and the closure of several media deemed hostile.
Turkey is ranked 153rd out of 180 in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 press freedom index.
