A Turkish court has sentenced fashion designer and activist Barbaros Şansal to three months and 22 days jail time for “insulting the government”, BBC Turkish reported on Tuesday.
A lawsuit was filed against Şansal on charges of “publicly insulting the government of the Republic of Turkey” upon the complaint of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Since the crime in question requires a prison sentence of more than three months, the court did not bail him or reprieve the sentence, BBC Turkish said.
“And Semih is released… And Nuriye is released… And the corruption of the government is before the world’s eyes… I’m telling you only one thing. We will win by resisting. We will rule them out straight away. We will once again put the secular, democratic and social state and rule of law in its proper place,” Şansal said in the tweet, which led to his sentence.
The 62-year-old designer has the right to appeal to a higher court.
Şansal made headlines in 2017, when he was arrested in north Cyprus and deported to Turkey over a video on social media in which he criticised the government and the people of Turkey.
He was attacked by a waiting mob as he deplaned upon arrival at Istanbul airport and then arrested for “inciting the public to hatred or hostility”.
Şansal later was given a six-month and 20-day prison sentence but released when the sentence was suspended.
Ahval