A journalist has been arrested in south-east Turkey for allegedly spreading “disinformation”, his lawyer mentioned on Thursday, marking the primary pre-trial detention below a brand new legislation that critics say poses a risk to free speech.
The arrest got here two months after parliament handed the sweeping laws that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling social gathering mentioned would shield the general public. Critics say the legislation might be abused by authorities to stifle dissent.
Sinan Aygül, a journalist in Kurdish-majority Bitlis province, was arrested early on Wednesday after he wrote on Twitter {that a} 14-year-old lady had allegedly been sexually abused by males, together with cops and troopers. He retracted the story.
In a sequence of tweets, Aygül mentioned the native governor had advised him the story was unfaithful after he had posted concerning the alleged incident.
Aygül, who’s the chair of the Bitlis Journalists Affiliation, apologized for publishing the story with out confirming it with authorities.
In a while Wednesday, a neighborhood courtroom ordered the arrest of Aygül pending trial, ruling his actions may result in concern and panic among the many public and will disturb peace within the nation given the dimensions of his viewers, a courtroom doc confirmed.
In his assertion to courtroom, Aygül mentioned he had corrected his mistake after talking with authorities, had deleted the preliminary tweet and had not meant to commit a criminal offense.
Aygül’s lawyer, Diyar Orak, mentioned the detention was illegal.
“The implementation of the laws … which was used for the primary time so far as we all know, being interpreted on this method by the judiciary leaves us involved that related investigations and arrests will ramp up sooner or later,” he advised Reuters.
The legislation carries a jail sentence of as much as three years for anybody who spreads false or deceptive info. Erdoğan’s AK social gathering and its nationalist MHP allies say it goals to fight disinformation.