Turkiye unrest: Beauty queen arrested over Erdoğan "insult"
Shafaq News/ Turkish police detained on
Wednesday former beauty queen and model Banu Öztürk on charges of
"insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Prosecutors in the Beykoz district of Istanbul
launched an investigation into Öztürk—who was crowned Miss Turkiye in
2009—after she published critical posts on social media condemning the recent
arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, according to Turkish media.
Authorities deemed her remarks "defamatory," prompting swift legal
action.
Öztürk, also known for her appearances in
several television series and work in the fashion industry, is the latest
public figure targeted under laws prohibiting insults against the president.
Her arrest comes amid a crackdown on
anti-government demonstrations. Overnight, security forces detained dozens of
protesters in Istanbul and Bursa, bringing the total number of arrests to more
than 1,400 since the unrest erupted about a week ago in protest of the arrest
of İmamoğlu, according to Turkish media.
Demonstrators accused the government of
escalating repression and have pledged to continue their protests despite
repeated clashes with police, while President Erdoğan has dismissed the unrest
as nothing more than a "performance," insisting it will not
"achieve its aims."
