An Antalya court ruled on arrest of 5 Turkish citizens who were accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday.
Insulting the president is subject to criminal charges under Turkish law, and President Erdoğan has sued critics, including regular citizens, in unprecedented numbers for allegedly insulting him. The Ministry of Interior Affairs announced last month that 10,000 people are currently under investigation on suspicion of terrorist propaganda and insulting senior state officials on social media.
According to T24 news portal, the Antalya court arrested 5 people while releasing three others on probation.
Mehmet Şahin Işık, who was earlier briefly detained for allegedly insulting Erdoğan, was given 14-month jail sentence over same the charge on Jan. 25.
