Concern over deteriorating freedoms as Merve Büyüksaraç, 27, given 14-month suspended sentence for sharing a satirical poem on Instagram

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A court has convicted a former Miss Turkey of insulting the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, through social media postings and handed her a 14-month suspended sentence.

The court on Tuesday found 27-year-old Merve Büyüksaraç guilty of insulting a public official. She would have to serve the sentence if she reoffends.

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Büyüksaraç, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, was briefly detained for sharing a satirical poem on her Instagram account in 2014. Prosecutors deemed it to be insulting to Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time.

Since becoming president in 2014, Erdoğan has filed close to 2,000 defamation cases under a previously seldom-used law that prohibits insulting the president.

The trials have deepened concerns over deteriorating freedoms in a country that was once seen as a model of Muslim democracy.