Social media and YouTube channels that broadcast vox pops, among others, are popular in Turkey. — Image by freepik
ISTANBUL: A Turkish court has sentenced a woman to more than seven months in jail after her vox pop interview criticising the country's Instagram blockade, state news agency Anadolu reports.
The court in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir found Dilruba Kayserilioglu guilty of "insulting the public," during a vox pop on a YouTube channel last month.
The sentence is delayed and she will not immediately serve jail.
Kayserilioglu was acquitted of the charges of incitement. The defendant invoked freedom of expression in her defence.
The 33-year-old had sharply criticised the government`s temporary blocking of Instagram, among other things, in a street poll in August.
She separately called supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "idiots" who she said trust their freedom in the hands of the president and "worship" him.
The woman was arrested shortly afterwards, but has since been released on probation.
Instagram was blocked in Turkey for more than a week at the beginning of August. The traditional media in Turkey is largely controlled by Erdogan`s government.
Social media and YouTube channels that broadcast vox pops, among others, are popular in Turkey.
The head of the broadcasting authority RTÜK recently shared plans to regulate street interviews on YouTube. – dpa
