Istanbul prosecutor seeks four years in jail for suspect over ‘spreading panic’ via bomb tweet

ISTANBUL

A suspect in Turkey faces four years in jail on charges of threatening people by spreading panic after tweeting that his flight schedule was “a perfect time to carry out a bomb attack” on Dec. 13, Doğan News Agency has reported

Bakırköy Chief Prosecutor Ertuğrul Sarıyar sought four years in jail for the 24-year-old suspect, identified only by the initials E.K., on charges of “threatening people by spreading panic” in a tweet posted on Twitter on Nov. 7.

“I have a flight scheduled at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night. A perfect time to carry out a bomb attack,” E.K. reportedly posted.

In his testimony, E.K. noted that he had become paranoid after barely escaping the deadly terror attack at Istanbul International Atatürk Airport on June 28. He also criticized various bans and censorship of social media.

If the indictment is approved by court, E.K. will go on trial in the coming days.