Turkish teacher to serve year in prison for insulting President Erdogan
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A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced a female teacher to almost a year in prison for making a rude gesture at President Tayyip Erdogan at a political rally in 2014, local media reports said on Wednesday.
Insulting public officials is a crime in Turkey, and Erdogan, the country's most popular but most divisive politician, is seen by his critics as intolerant of dissent and quick to take legal action over perceived slurs.
After a rally in the Aegean city of Izmir in 2014 when he was prime minister, Erdogan lashed out at the female teacher and said she made a gesture at him that typified the rudeness of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
"Today as I was arriving (there was) a woman on a balcony," he said. "She made such an ugly gesture with her hand. There you go, that is the CHP. I mean the country's prime minister is passing by and you make that gesture with your hand and arm."
The teacher, who pleaded not guilty at the hearing, will serve 11 months and 20 days in jail, the Dogan news agency said.
