An Instagram post could put former Miss Turkey behind bars

Published February 26, 2015
Merve Buyuksarac - Photo courtesy: www.haberler.com
Merve Buyuksarac - Photo courtesy: www.haberler.com

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.

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