A Turkish court has arrested a woman who criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a recent ban on the Instagram social media network in a street interview in the western province of İzmir, Turkish Minute reported, citing the ANKA news agency.
An investigation was launched into the woman identified as Dilruba Y. on accusations of “publicly denigrating a segment of society” for her remarks criticizing Erdoğan and supporters of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in the interview over the ban on Instagram, which was lifted on Saturday evening after remaining in place for nine days.
The woman was taken to İzmir’s Şakran Prison after the court ruled for her arrest.
She argued in the interview that the ban on Instagram was a result of the vast powers granted to Erdoğan by a presidential system of governance.
“He [Erdoğan] is currently governing the country as he wishes. This is so wrong. This is a secular country; he can’t just arbitrarily shut down Instagram,” Dilruba Y. said.
“And to those who support him, let me say this: You are all foolish; you are nothing more than mindless, brainwashed people,” she added.
Turkey on August 2 blocked access to Instagram without explanation, after the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, accused the Meta-owned US company of “impeding people from publishing messages of condolence for the martyr Haniyeh.”
Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of the Palestinian group Hamas and a close ally of Erdoğan, was killed in Tehran on July 31 in an attack blamed on Israel.
Turkey lifted the ban on Saturday evening after denying access to millions of users for nine days.
The arrest of Dilruba Y. came after Ebubekir Şahin, chairman of Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), last week issued a written statement in which he announced that the council was increasing its scrutiny of street interviews allegedly contributing to misinformation and “social conflict.”
The woman’s arrest has led to criticism even from the ranks of Erdoğan’s party and the opposition.
Mücahit Birinci, a lawyer and former Central Decision and Management Board (MKYK) member of the AKP, criticized the arrest of Dilruba Y., saying the lower limit of the penalty for the offense she is accused of committing does not require arrest.
“We have learned from our ancestors to be fair, even to someone against whom we feel anger. The greatness of the state is in its justice,” he added.
Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), described Dilruba Y.’s arrest as unacceptable, at a time when many people who have committed serious crimes go unpunished.
The İzmir Bar Association also reacted to the development in a written statement released on Tuesday, saying the arrest violates Dilruba Y.’s right to freedom of expression and indicates that the government does not tolerate criticism.
They called on the government to put an end to the “disproportionate and unlawful arrest decisions aimed at silencing and intimidating citizens.”
The Turkish government has been trying to keep the press under control by imprisoning journalists, eliminating media outlets, overseeing the purchase of media brands by pro-government conglomerates and using regulatory authorities to exert financial pressure.
Following the state-led takeover of the mainstream media, social media platforms as well as online news sites remain among the last bastions of critical journalism in Turkey. YouTube journalism has been particularly popular, with many young journalists conducting street interviews around the country asking people their opinions on popular topics.
Turkey was ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by RSF.
