Turkiye frees 14 youths held over Erdogan insult

ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Friday ordered the release of 14 youths jailed since March for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during protests backing Istanbul´s imprisoned opposition mayor, according to the court decision seen by AFP.

All were arrested during demonstrations in support of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, an opponent of Erdogan whose arrest on March 19 had sparked an unprecedented wave of protest in Turkiye since 2013.

The judiciary has not dropped the charges against the 14 youths, many of whom are under the age of 20. According to Turkiye´s main opposition party, more than 300 young people were placed in pre-trial detention during the wave of protests, many accused of participating in illegal gatherings.

The judiciary released most of them in April, taking into account, among other factors, that many of the defendants were students and that their imprisonment risked harming their studies.

Imamoglu, who has denied the corruption charges, was widely seen as the biggest political rival to Erdogan. His jailing is likely to prevent him from running in Turkiye´s 2028 presidential election.