Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised on Wednesday January 26 to “
punish
” the Turkish television journalist accused of having insulted him and since placed in pre-trial detention.
“
This offense will not go unpunished
,” warned the Head of State during an interview with the private television channel NTV.
Read alsoTurkey: soon the end for Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
For Erdogan, journalist Sedef Kabas acted "out
of provocation
".
“
It is our duty to protect the respect of my office, of the presidency.
It has nothing to do with freedom of expression
,” Erdogan said.
“
Criticism can exist but it must be exercised in an appropriate language
,” he continued, denouncing the suggestion of the opposition party CHP to abolish the offense of insulting the president.
“
You cannot afford the luxury of insulting the president
,” he insisted.
Formally stopped
Sedef Kabas was arrested at her home in Istanbul overnight from Friday to Saturday, a few hours after her appearance on the air for remarks considered derogatory towards the president, then repeated on her Twitter account followed by 900,000 subscribers. She was formally arrested after her appearance in court and remanded to Bakirkoy prison in Istanbul.
The offense of "
insulting the president
" is punishable by one to four years in prison in Turkey.
For the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS), “
the arrest of Sedef Kabas for ''insulting the president'' is a serious attack on freedom of expression
”.
NGOs regularly denounce violations of press freedom in Turkey, in particular since the attempted putsch in 2016, 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.