Youth arrested for 'insulting' Erdogan

The 16-year-old high school student, identified by his initials, M.E.A., was arrested in the central Turkey city of Konya, according to a report published in the Hurriyet newspaper on Thursday.

The accusation stems from a speech the boy made on Wednesday in Konya, in which he referred to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured above) as the "thieving owner of the illegal palace." The reference alluded to a corruption scandal one year ago that led to the resignations of four ministers in then-Prime Minister Erdogan's cabinet, as well as a new presidential palace with more than 1,000 rooms, in which Erdogan took up residence back in October.

The youth, who has reportedly denied intending to insult the president, could now face up to four years in prison if convicted on the charge, although this could be reduced due to his young age.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended the court's decision to arrest the high-school student.

"Everyone must respect the office of president whoever he is," Davotoglu said.

Opposition cries foul

However, Riza Turmen, a parliamentarian with the secular opposition Republican People's Party, denounced the arrest.

"Regimes taking children out of classes by police force and putting them in jail are fascist regimes," Turmen, who is also a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights, said via the micro-blogging website Twitter. "This goes against the UN charter on children's rights" he added.

This comes less than a fortnight after Turkish police arrested almost 30 people, many of whom were journalists, deemed to have links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, who is now his arch-rival. Erdogan has accused Gulen of running a "parallel state" and orchestrating last year's corruption scandal.

Turkey faced widespread criticism over the arrests, including from the European Union, which it aspires to join.

pfd/sb (AFP, dpa, AP)