The winner of Miss Turkey 2017 has been stripped of her crown over a tweet she posted about last year’s coup attempt.

Itir Esen, 18, was awarded the beauty contest prize on Thursday but had her crown taken away hours later after it emerged she had commented on the July 2016 attempt to topple the government of Turkey’s controversial president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ms Esen is said to have posted on the one-year anniversary of the coup making inappropriate comments about the 250 people who were killed opposing the attempted overthrow, which was swiftly crushed.

Miss Turkey organisers said they had spent a “long time” investigating whether the tweet was genuine and, after deciding that it was, opted to withdraw the award from Ms Esen. The contestant had reportedly denied the social media account was hers.

Can Sandıkçıoğlu, president of Miss Turkey, said: “We regret to inform you that this tweet has been posted by Itır Esen.

“It is not possible for the Miss Turkey organisation, which aims to promote Turkey and contribute to its image worldwide, to accept such a post.”

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People demonstrate in front of the Republic Monument at the Taksim Square in Istanbul Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

Following the decision, the second-place contestant, Asli Sumen, was crowned Miss Turkey 2017. She will now represent the country in the Miss World contest, which will take place in China in November.

Mr Erdogan has clamped down on opposition since the failed coup attempt. He has been criticised by international observers for a string of measures, included imposing a state of emergency and thereby suspending many of the powers of the country’s parliament and judiciary.

Thousands of politicians, journalists and others who oppose the government have been imprisoned and more than 9,000 police officers suspended after being accused of having links to the coup.