A woman who recorded herself in a video insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, at his mausoleum in Ankara was arrested on Sunday, the Hürriyet Daily News reported.
“I am very embarrassed for having come here [to Atatürk’s mausoleum]. I wish I had not come. I am here because people had insisted. I do not love Atatürk. It was not Atatürk who saved Turkey,” the woman said in the video she sent to her friend.
Her 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 Atatürkist friend, but she disrespected me. We had an argument and I was angry. If I did not have respect for Atatürk 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, local media reported.
“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.
An article in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) protects Atatürk’s memory, stipulating one to three years in prison for explicit insults of him.