Union head arrested for ‘bread’ remarks released

ISTANBUL

Cihan Kolivar, the head of the Turkish Union of Bread Producers, who was arrested for “insulting the president” after calling the bread-consuming societies “stupid,” has been released.

“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.”

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

He was released following the evaluation of his lawyers’ objection against his arrest.

Following his comments, the 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.”

While holding the title of being the oldest and most important source of nutrition for humanity, bread is no less significant in Türkiye, where it is consumed in record breaking quantities. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) data, the population of the country derives around 40 percent of their daily energy intake from bread.