Felicity Party MP accused of ‘insulting Turkey’ over coup attempt remark

ANKARA

Turkish prosecutors on Nov. 2 launched an investigation into a lawmaker from the Felicity (SP) Party accused of “insulting the Turkish nation” and “praising crimes and criminals,” state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The investigation was launched into Istanbul lawmaker Nazır Cihangir İslam, who is accused of making posts on Twitter “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, and institutions and organs of the state while praising crimes and criminals,” said a statement by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara.

İslam’s Twitter posts concerned the failed coup on July 15, 2016, widely believed to have been undertaken by the illegal FETÖ. In his social media post, İslam said the coup attempt was a “clash between two superstitious” parties.

A number of lawmakers lambasted İslam’s remarks, calling them “unfortunate.”

FETÖ and its United States-based leader Fethullah Gülen are widely believed to have orchestrated the failed coup of attempt July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.