A 16-year-old boy from Mersina in southern Turkey was arrested and jailed on Tuesday evening for painting a “Hitler” mustache on a campaign poster for President Erdogan, some media close to the opposition reported.

According to the newspapers Cumhuriyet and BirGün, as well as Halk TV, the high school student was accused of “drawing Hitler’s mustache with a pen and writing offensive comments” on a poster with the face of the Turkish president, which was hung outside the house.

Police reviewed surveillance video and identified the assailant, who was reportedly detained at his home. Under interrogation, “he admitted to drawing a mustache, but denied writing comments.”

According to Halk TV, the 16-year-old was brought before a prosecutor on charges of “insulting the president” and is being held in a juvenile prison in Tarsus.

“Insulting the president” is one of the most frequently brought charges in Turkey, with 16,753 cases reported in 2022 according to statistics from the Ministry of Justice.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, has been re-elected for a new five-year term as President of Turkey, defeating opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the second round of elections.

Source: RES-IPE