Alwaght- Turkey has arrested a young women on Saturday over insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, Hurriyet Daily News reported. An article in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) protects Ataturk's memory, stipulating one to three years in prison for explicit insults of him.
Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office issued a detention warrant for Safiye İnci after a video was shared on Social media showing her saying "I am very embarrassed for having come here [to Ataturk's mausoleum]. I wish I had not come. I am here because people had insisted. I don’t like Atatürk a bit. Ataturk didn’t found Turkey, either. You know, there are Ataturkists who don’t like Tayyip [President Erdogan]… Ataturk could not even be Tayyip’s shit”.
İnci recorded the video at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara and sent it to one of her Ataturkist friends. The video cased a storm of public outrage after her friend posted it on social media.
Following a strong public reaction, the woman posted another video on social media saying she was deeply sorry.
"I shared my views about politics and religion with an Ataturkist friend but she disrespected me. We had an argument and I was angry. If I did not have respect for Ataturk I would not have come to Anıtkabir [Atatürk’s mausoleum]. I recorded this video and sent it to her out of my anger towards her after she used bad words against me. My friend shared the video on social media and that is how it went viral. I apologize to everyone for what I said,” she said.
However, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation and issued a arrest warrant for her.
"The suspect in question has been detained. After she is questioned, the individual will be referred to a court,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The Interior Ministry announced that 514 social media accounts have been investigated while legal action was taken against 313 social media users due to their posts, Gazete Duvar reported last week. (SCF with Ahval)
