Today’s Zaman editor-in-chief put on probation for 'insulting president'

ISTANBUL

Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş was released on probation on Oct. 8 after he was sent to court with a demand for his arrest for allegedly defaming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter.

The prosecutor’s office sent Keneş to court for arrest while he was in the office to testify.

“Press prosecutor Umut Tepe has sent me to court for arrest for defaming the president … in my Twitter posts,” Keneş tweeted before the court ruling.

“I will continue to fight for democracy and freedom until the last moment. You will not be able to silence a free soul even if you put it in prison,” he wrote.

Today’s Zaman, which is the English version of the Turkish language daily Zaman, is allegedly close to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Following stunning corruption allegations in 2013 against Erdoğan’s inner circle, thousands of alleged members of Gülen’s movement were purged from the police force and judiciary.

Hidayet Karaca, the head of Samanyolu Broadcasting Group, also linked to the Gülen movement, has been under arrest since Dec. 14 on charges of terrorism.