Woman faces four years in jail for ‘insulting’ Erdoğan on Facebook

ZONGULDAK – Doğan News Agency

AFP photo

A woman in Turkey’s northern province of Zonguldak is facing four years in prison for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Facebook, in a post written when Erdoğan was serving as prime minister in 2014.

According to the public prosecutor’s indictment, the 22-year-old woman, identified only by her initials D.S., committed the crime during an argument on Facebook with a man, identified only as Murat K., on Facebook on Feb. 18, 2014. 

After the exchange, Murat K. filed a criminal complaint claiming that D.S. had “insulted the prime minister” and “insulted an individual” during the argument. He also claimed that her friend, identified only as B.D., had “insulted an individual.” 

The indictment demands four years in jail for D.S. on two counts and two years in jail for her friend B.D. 

Hundreds of Turkish citizens have been investigated and many sentenced on charges of “insulting” Erdoğan since he became president in August 2014.