Historian Mustafa Armağan has been sentenced to one year, three months in prison for insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, in an article published in the May edition of the Derin Tarih magazine, DHA reported.
“This is the state of freedom of expression in Turkey. I was sentenced to a year and 3 months in prison for publishing a letter written by Latife Hanım [wife of Atatürk],” tweeted Armağan in reaction to the ruling.
Armağan, the host of the “Derin Tarih” TV show aired on the pro-government TVNET station, attracted widespread criticism when he claimed in a May 6 broadcast based on the article that Atatürk’s foster child, Afet İnan, was his illegitimate wife.
After the claim sparked outrage on social media, investigations were launched into Armağan as well as commentators Süleyman Yeşilyurt and Yavuz Bahadıroğlu on suspicion of “defamation.”