Ankara, April 24, 2016 (AFP) – A Dutch journalist of Turkish origin, Ebru Umar, was detained for several hours by police after being arrested in the night from Saturday to Sunday at his home in Kusadasi (western Turkey) for insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ‘she said on its Twitter account.

The journalist said she was “free but forbidden to leave the country” Turkish.

Ebru Umar, known feminist and atheist, said she had been taken from the bed Saturday night at her home in Kusadasi, a small resort in western Turkey.

“Two men knocked on my door and told me that I should go with them, because of two tweets,” she told Dutch broadcaster NOS. She spent the night at the police station “to discuss politics and the situation in Turkey,” she added.

Umar, aged 45, was then released, but she confirmed that she could leave the country, and should represent the police in a few days.

She said she should have left for the Netherlands on Sunday, but she could therefore leave the country immediately. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said Sunday be “relieved” by his release.

He added that he had contacted his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, to express his “regret” about the case.

“A country that is a candidate for accession to the European Union should continue to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” he insisted.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also telephoned his counterpart Ahmet Davuoglu to express concern.

The Turkish authorities interviewed by AFP did not wish to comment.

Ebru Umar had recently written a very critical review of Turkey’s strong man in the Dutch newspaper Metro.

In this article, it cited in particular in support of its accusations against Erdogan, an email sent by the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam to Turks living in this region asking them to report any insult expressed on social networks to against the head of the Turkish state. This email was generated controversy. The consulate had subsequently spoken of a “misunderstanding”.

Rutte said he was “surprised” by this approach “strange”, demanding explanations from Ankara.

The trial for insult to Erdogan have multiplied since his election to the State of the head in August 2014, a sign, according to critics, an authoritarian drift.

Nearly 2,000 legal proceedings have been launched in Turkey for both artists and journalists as individuals.

Sanctions imposed for this offense is limited in most cases to prison sentences, but a woman was sentenced Jan. 20 to eleven months in prison for an obscene gesture against Erdogan during a demonstration on March 2014.