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26-year-old model Merve Buyuksarac was arrested after quoting a poem critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Facebook
A former Miss Turkey got a firm dressing down for quoting a satirical poem online that criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Merve Buyuksarac, 26, a model and 2006 pageant queen, was arrested after she posted a quote from a poem in humor magazine Uykusuz, Central European News reported.
Her arrest comes as Turkish officials are cracking down on critical media in the wake of the terror attacks at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris.
Cops last week stopped a Turkish newspaper’s delivery trucks to make sure they were not carrying copies of Charlie Hebdo that might be offensive to Muslims. Turkey is secular but almost 100 percent of its population is registered Muslim.
Merve, an exotic brunette who works as an industrial designer and writer, landed in court — flanked by armed guards — and nervously said she “may have quoted a poem” from the weekly.
She said she quickly deleted it when a friend warned that such postings could result in criminal charges.
“I shared it because I found it funny. I had no intention to insult (Erdogan),” she said.
“The Master’s Poem” satirically criticized the president through verses adapted from Turkey’s national anthem.
Prosecutor Vedat Yigit demanded “judicial control” over Buyuksarac before the next hearing, but the judge released her from custody pending a trial.
Turkey last week blocked access to some online news sites for republishing the cover of Charlie Hebdo’s latest issue, which portrays the Prophet Muhammad.
Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan also has lashed out at cartoons featuring Muhammad, calling such depictions an “open provocation.”
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