Former model Merve Buyuksarac, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, may be facing jail time for slandering the Turkish president, reports Washington Post.

On Wednesday, Buyuksarac's attorney told the media that an Istanbul prosecutor is aiming to take her to court for insulting a public official. If she is found guilty of the offence, she could face up to four and a half years in prison, according to AFP.

– Photo courtesy: Buyuksarac's Instagram
– Photo courtesy: Buyuksarac's Instagram

Although Buyuksarac works as an industrial designer and writer now, she still remains popular on social media platforms such as Instagram with 15,000 followers and more than double on Twitter. Prosecutor claims that her insult against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had appeared in an Instagram post from last summer, which was a picture of a satirical poem taken from a magazine.

In her testimony, Buyuksarac said she may have quoted a poem called the “Master's Poem” from weekly Turkish satirical magazine Uykusuz.

"I shared it because it was funny to me," she added. She denies that she meant to insult the president.

-Photo courtesy: Washington Post
-Photo courtesy: Washington Post

Insulting Erdoğan is obviously not taken lightly in Turkey. Over 60 people have been charged for their mocking him in the last seven months alone. Recently,16-year-old high school student was arrested after making a speech in which he described Erdoğan as "the thieving owner of the illegal palace."

The court is due to decide whether to start full legal proceedings against the model and a trial.

Opinion

Editorial

Battling hate
15 Mar, 2026

Battling hate

ISLAMOPHOBIA today is not some nebulous concept, but a real-world threat experienced by many of the world’s two...
TB drugs shortage
15 Mar, 2026

TB drugs shortage

‘CRIMINAL negligence’ is the phrase that jumps to mind when one considers the disturbing consequences of the...
Chinese diplomacy
Updated 14 Mar, 2026

Chinese diplomacy

THERE are signs that China is taking a more active role in trying to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism...
Fragile gains at risk
14 Mar, 2026

Fragile gains at risk

PAKISTAN is confronting an external shock stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran that few of the other affected...
Kidney disease
14 Mar, 2026

Kidney disease

ON World Kidney Day this past Thursday, the Pakistan Medical Association raised the alarm on Pakistan’s...
Delicate balance
Updated 13 Mar, 2026

Delicate balance

PAKISTAN has to maintain a delicate balance where the geopolitics of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are...