The attorney general of Istanbul has been conducting the investigation against Kervancı. The director general of HSBC on Sep.13 was summoned to the police headquarters in Istanbul and testified on the probe.

Kervancı said the video was first posted by journalist Ayşe Arman and he retweeted it to watch later since Arman was a prominent journalist in the country and he was not aware of what the video was about.

"If there is an insult to our president or other public servants in the video, I posted it unconsciously. The (anonymous) complainant filed this criminal case against me to damage me and my professional reputation," Kervancı commented on the incident.

In Turkey, insulting president carries a sentence between one and four years, according to the Turkish Penal Code.

The Turkish government has been using social media posts, cartoons, news and articles as evidence for insulting the president and thousands of people have been facing prison sentences.

Between 2010 and 2017, 12,893 cases of insulting the president were filed. Of these, 12,305 were filed under the presidency of Erdoğan, who assumed office in 2014.

The courts have convicted defendants in 2,099 of a total of 5,150 cases. There were an additional 660 cases in which a verdict was reached, but the court adjourned before announcing the decision. 873 cases resulted in acquittal.