5 People Arrested, 5 Others Detained for ‘Insulting President’

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Five people, who were taken into custody in İzmir before the election rally of Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP), have been arrested on charge of "insulting the president".

The İzmir Public Prosecutor's Office previously launched an investigation after a video was posted on social media, where a group of people who attended the rally of Muharrem İnce were allegedly "cheering for the President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with swear words while drinking alcohol at an entertainment center."

After an arrest warrant was issued for 15 people people as part of the investigation, seven of them were arrested on charge of "insulting the state officials". While two of the detained were released on probation, one person was later released by the Prosecutor's Office.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency, five other people, "who were detected with the help of surveillance cameras", were taken into custody in İzmir. All of the detained were arrested on charge of "insulting the president" by the Penal Judgeship of Peace on Duty.

12 people in total have been arrested on the same charges in İzmir over the last week.

Detentions in Antalya

The Antalya Public Prosecutor's Office previously launched an investigation into the slogans chanted by the group who gathered in front of the Antalya Courthouse at the night of June 24, when the presidential and 27th term parliamentary elections were held.

Five people were taken into custody today (June 28) on charges of "insulting the president", "inciting the public to enmity and hatred or degrading them" and "insulting the Turkish nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, its government and its institutions" in an operation launched by the forces of the Antalya Provincial Security Directorate with the instruction of the Public Prosecutor's Office. (AS/SD)