Turkish actor Barış Atay briefly detained in Aegean province of Muğla

MUĞLA

Popular Turkish actor Barış Atay was briefly detained on June 15 in the town of Dalyan in the Aegean province of Muğla, as part of an ongoing case over charges of insulting a former adviser to the prime minister, Doğan News Agency has reported.

An Ankara court issued an arrest warrant for the actor after he failed to attend a testimony hearing.
 
Atay is accused of insulting via a Twitter message Yusuf Yerkel, who made headlines in 2014 after being photographed kicking a protester on the ground during demonstrations following a coal mine disaster in Soma. 

Atay was staying at a hotel together with his wife at the time of his detention by gendarmerie forces at around 10 p.m. local time. The couple was reportedly in the town for a holiday. The actor was taken to the Dalyan Gendarmerie station command but was released shortly after judicial proceedings were completed.

Back on Nov. 22, 2013, Atay was detained in Istanbul on accusations of links to hacker group RedHack and was taken to the capital Ankara for questioning along with 13 other suspects. Three days later he was released upon a ruling from an Ankara court.

“Neither Barış Atay nor other detainees have anything to do with us,” Redhack had announced via Twitter following the detentions. 

Atay is known for prominently expressing his objections via Twitter to police intervention during the Gezi Park protests in Turkey over the summer of 2013.