Turkish teenage anti-government demonstrator freed

Turkish demonstrators against Erdogan's Internet censorship

This photo is about Turkish demonstrators against Erdogan’s censorship of Twitter on the Internet. A sign calls Erdogan ‘Twitler’ in an allusion to both Twitter and Adolf Hitler.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

High school student who demonstrated against Erdogan free again

Today, 15:12

Turkey has released a 16-year-old boy who was arrested Wednesday at a demonstration against the Turkish President Erdogan. His arrest led to protests from people who think that Turkey is increasingly deteriorating into an authoritarian state. Dozens of lawyers offered to defend him.

On Wednesday, the boy joined a student protest in the city of Konya to commemorate a murder in the twenties of the last century. A secular soldier was then killed by fanatical Muslims. In a speech, the boy said that the students do not consider Erdogan as the legitimate president, but as “the thieving owner of an illegal palace.” Thus, he referred to corruption scandals involving family members of Erdogan and a palace with 1150 rooms in Ankara that Erdogan started to use in October.

The boy is now free, but may still be prosecuted. He can get up to four years in prison.

Mehmet Emin Altunses (C) is reunited with his parents and relatives in the central city of Konya. Photo: AFP/Getty