Indictment for arrested journalist accepted
ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court accepted an indictment prepared by a prosecutor against journalist Sedef Kabaş, who was arrested on Jan. 22 on charges of “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and two ministers.
A trial date has not yet been set for the journalist, who will appear before the judge with a prison sentence of up to 12 years and 10 months. The request of her lawyer, Uğur Poyraz, for the release of Kabaş is still pending.
The prosecutor demanded a jail term of eight years and two months for “insulting the president” and another four years and eight months for “insulting” Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu.
Kabaş was detained and later arrested over her remarks about the president aired on private broadcaster Tele 1. She was sent to the Istanbul Bakırköy Women’s Prison on Jan. 23.
