Man detained for insulting Atatürk in video
ISTANBUL
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has announced that a man who has recently posted a video on social media insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, was detained.
“The person who recorded the video in which Atatürk is insulted and the person making the insult” have been detained by Turkish police, Soylu said on his Twitter account early Oct. 15.
A video in which a man is seen insulting Atatürk in front of his statue and hitting it has caused public outrage on social media. Thousands of people took the issue to Twitter with the hashtag “AtayaUzananEliKırarız!” (“We will the break the hands [of those] insulting Atatürk” in English), calling for the man’s detention and an investigation into the incident.
Turkish Law 5816 (“The Law Concerning Crimes Committed Against Atatürk”) protects “the memory of Atatürk” from being insulted by any Turkish citizen. An offense against the memory of Atatürk is punishable by up to three years in jail.
