Two out of four individuals who were recently detained in the southern Turkish province of Antalya on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on social media have been arrested, the Diken news website reported on Tuesday.
The four people were detained as part of operations conducted by the Antalya Police Department. While two of them, identified only by the initials M.Ç. and H.Y., have been arrested after appearing in court on charges of insulting the president, the Turkish nation and state institutions and organs, the other two have been released on judicial probation.
Hundreds of people in Turkey, including even high school students, face charges of insulting President Erdoğan. The slightest criticism is considered insult, and there has been a rise in the number of cases in which people inform on others claiming that they insulted the president, the government or government officials.