Famous Turkish actor accused of ‘insulting Erdogan’

ISTANBUL: A famous Turkish actor was on Monday accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and inciting an armed uprising over comments made during a television programme last week, local media reported. Metin Akpinar -- who is also a well-known comedian in Turkey -- was taken in by police for questioning on Monday, along with another Turkish actor, Mujdat Gezen. "If we don't become a (democracy)... the leader might be hung from his feet or maybe poisoned in the cellars or meet the same end as other leaders in the past," Akpinar, 77, reportedly said on television on Friday. An Istanbul court said the two men would be released on conditional bail after they were summoned to give statements to prosecutors. But they will have to report to a police station once a week and are banned from leaving Turkey. Both men are suspected of "insulting the president". Akpinar also was suspected of "inciting an armed uprising against the government", the Istanbul public prosecutor said Monday, quoted by Hurriyet daily.