Bakers’ Union head arrested for ‘bread’ remarks

ANKARA

Cihan Kolivar, the president of the Turkish Union of Bread Producers, has been arrested for calling bread-consuming societies “stupid.”

“Bread is the staple food for stupid societies,” he said in a TV interview last week and added: “Since our society feeds with bread, such rulers have been ruling it for 20 years.”

Following his comments, prosecutor’s office in Istanbul issued an arrest warrant based on charges of “humiliating the Turkish nation, state, government, parliament and judicial bodies,” and “insult to the president.”

Kolivar, who was arrested late on Nov. 9, said, “I have no problem with the government,” in his first testimony.

“My problem is with the district municipalities who permit bakeries to stay open without working permits,” he added.

For his words combining bread with stupidity, Kolivar stated, “I meant, ‘Consuming bread too much is unhealthy.’ I did not target the society.”

Kolivar’s attorney alleged that the union head’s former tweets about the president were added to the file, leading to his arrest.