An individual who is 16 years old is being sued for “insulting the President” in Turkey, as reported by the daily newspaper BirGün on August 29th.
Reportedly, the boy, residing in Istanbul, purportedly uttered profanities as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s motorcade passed by in May.
After being held in detention for a day, the child expressed fear and responded to the fast vehicle due to a previous accident they had six months prior to the occurrence.
“I was unaware that any government official, including the President, would be present.” I have not made any derogatory remarks towards any state official, including the President of the Republic of Turkey. I am an adolescent enrolled in secondary education and I have never engaged in any criminal activities. My response was misconstrued because to the previous trauma I had endured, and I refrained from using profanity. “I was simply frightened and responded,” the child stated in their testimony.
The Istanbul court granted the child’s release under judicial control measures and set a prohibition on overseas travel.
In addition, the child has been attending the police station every week since May to sign documents.
In August, an indictment was drafted and the prosecutor in the case requested that the youngster be convicted for “insulting the President.”
Last year, a total of 972 youngsters were sent to investigation under sections 299-301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which include the offence of “insulting the President.”
