Former Miss Turkey model faces two years in prison for 'insulting' Turkish president

Merve Büyüksaraç (R), is facing the prospect of two years in president for insulting Turkish president Recep Erdogan (L) Credit: Reuters

A former Miss Turkey model is been threatened with up to two years in prison for 'insulting' the Turkish president Recep Erdogan, according to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper.

Merve Büyüksaraç, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006 and is now a writer and industrial designer, was detained and questioned on January 14th after she shared a poem by the Turkish satirical magazine Uykusuz on Instagram.

"The Master's Poem", allegedly criticised president Erdogan and adapted verses from the Turkish national anthem.

Ms Büyüksaraç said that “I shared it because I found it funny. I had no intention to insult then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan”. She deleted it after a warning from one of her friends.

Mr Erdogan and his government have been responding firmly to critics ever since the Gezi Park protests in 2013 Credit: Reuters

Today the indictment against her said that the remarks that she shared could not be "considered within the terms of freedom of expression" and that the prosecution demanded she be sentenced to one to two years in prison.

The case against Miss Turkey is seen by many to be part of an increasing trend of authoritarianism and a centralisation of power around Erdogan, who became Turkey's first popularly elected president in August 2014 after years as the countries Prime Minister.

In a similar case, journalist Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the daily Cumhuriyet newspaper, was summoned by prosecutors yesterday under the same charge of 'insulting' the president.

Turkey's president has been highly critical of social media, once vowing to 'eradicate Twitter'.

Erdogan is been seen as taking a much tougher stance to criticism following the protests that started in Gezi Park and spread across the country in 2013.