A 16-year-old student was released from custody today after his arrest for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan caused uproar in the country.
The student, identified only by his initials M.E.A, was taken away from his school on Wednesday and jailed for making a speech during a student protest in which he reportedly said Erdogan was regarded as the “thieving owner of the illegal palace.” It was a reference to a government corruption scandal as well as a controversial 1,150-room palace Erdogan inaugurated in October.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had defended his detention, saying the presidential office had to be respected, but opposition parties denounced his arrest as the latest example of the government’s crackdown on dissent in the country.
The BBC’s Selin Girit in London joins Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson to tell us more on the story.
Guest
- Selin Girit, BBC reporter. She tweets @selingirit.
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