A Dutch journalist who was in Antichrist Turkey on holiday was arrested for being critical of Erdogan, or as they call it ‘insulting’ him. She had written an article in her Dutch newspaper calling Erdogan a megalomaniac dictator before coming to Turkey and apparently retweeted part of it while she was in Turkey. That night they came to her door and arrested her:
HURRIYET – A Dutch journalist was detained on April 23 in the Kuşadası district of the Aegean province of Aydın for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan via her Twitter account.
Police detained journalist Ebru Umar after she tweeted an extract from a recent piece she wrote for Dutch daily Metro critical of Erdoğan.
“Police at the door. No joke,” tweeted Umar, who also holds Turkish citizenship.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced it was in “close contact with” Umar following her detainment.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeted he had contacted the journalist on April 23, as well as mentioning the embassy’s assistance on the issue.
The Dutch consular agent in İzmir appointed main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kuşadası district head lawyer Nail Özazman to defend Umar.
Umar was transferred to court with an arrest demand on April 24 following her proceedings in the security directorate.
A local court later ruled for the release of Umar on probation along with a travel ban.
The New York Times adds more detail:
She is the latest on a growing list of journalists, academics, cartoonists and others — nearly 2,000 cases have been filed in Turkish courts — who have faced the Turkish justice system for insulting Mr. Erdogan. The crime carries a sentence of four years in prison. Ms. Umar was detained just as European leaders, including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, were wrapping up a visit to Turkey to highlight progress in its pact with the European Union over the migrant crisis.
In a further embarrassment to European leaders, a Turkish consular official in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, asked Turks in the country last week to report any insults directed at Mr. Erdogan. Ms. Umar, who has dual Dutch and Turkish citizenship, wrote a column in the newspaper Metro that took aim at that request. In the column, she called Mr. Erdogan “the most megalomaniac dictator since the foundation of the republic in 1923.” She addressed the column to “every Dutch-Turk who supports this call by the consulate and thinks they can act as traitors by snitching on what Dutch people say about ‘sultan’ Erdogan.”
Umar is exactly right about Erdogan. Not only is he the most megalomaniac dictator of Turkey, he’s the emerging Caliph of the new Ottoman Empire 2.0 he is building and is going to get the Turkish constitution rewritten this year to make him officially their sultan.
Below I have posted a few of her tweets from the weekend and this morning. The important ones about her arrest are in Dutch but she started tweeting in English after this story went international and you can see some of those tweets below:
guess where I am right now?? 27 degrees, had my hair done, life is gooodddd https://t.co/ya434m3gy9
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 23, 2016
Oké. Politie voor de deur timeline. Geen grap.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 23, 2016
We gaan nu naar ander politieburo. Guvenlik buro amirligi in KUSADASI.ik heb het niet gehoord maar er isgefluisterd dat ik vast blijf zitten
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 23, 2016
Sorry for that Turkish and English Tweeps: THANKS for all the support. AMAZING and VERY JOYFUL
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
I m sort of "free", am at home but am not allowed toe leave the country. My tweets are under investigation. As are all my phone calls
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
Some updates on the past day: police held me in custody from approx 23hrs Saturday night till 16hrs Sunday.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
Police were harsh at first, but I m sooooo not impressed by handsome men with biceps. They were annoyed at my lack of fear and hierarchy
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
Thing in Turkey: hierarchy is king. You re a nobody in custody but hey: no one treats me like a nobody. Police wouldn't give names at first.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
Later on things went better. The dutch translator is an asshole, trying to opiniate translations. I told him to shut up.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
Had a swell night at the police station in Davutlar. Arrived around 4ish in the morning – talked my way through the night with older office
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
today I spent till around 16hrs at the court house. verdict being: free to go home, have to report twice weekly at the police station.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
obviously lawyers are working on getting the travel ban lifted.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
dear timeline, I off to bed now, soooo tired. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AGAIN. 11 o clock tomorrow I have to see my lawyer. Keep you posted #THX
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 24, 2016
So there was a burglary in my Amsterdam home. I m impressed. intimidated. o wait… I M NOT.
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 25, 2016
HUP @lindazoon THANKS!!! pic.twitter.com/1hr01vjZKe
— Ebru Umar (@umarebru) April 25, 2016
Of course some Erdogan fans broke into her home. Ugh. This is the penalty she pays for criticizing Erdogan. It’s bad enough that he is silencing opposition media in the country. Now he is trying to intimidate international opposition media.
You can follow her tweets here.