Journalist and television presenter Sedef Kabaş, who was detained and later released on Dec. 30 for posting tweets critical of government’s handling of a major corruption investigation launched on Dec. 17, 2013, said that she was summoned to testify again on Monday.
“Mr. Prosecutor summoned [me] to testify again. The İstanbul Courthouse has been my [popular] venue,” Kabaş tweeted on Monday.
Kabaş had criticized prosecutors for dropping the Dec. 17 corruption and bribery investigation that implicated various high-raking state officials.
Police detained Kabaş after searching her home and seizing her computer early on Dec. 30.
The prosecutors who dropped corruption and bribery charges against 53 suspects — charges that forced four government ministers to step down following the exposure of a graft probe that shook the entire country when it went public on Dec. 17 of last year — filed a criminal complaint against Kabaş over her tweet.
Police raided Kabaş’s home in the Çekmeköy district of İstanbul upon the complaint of the prosecutors and detained her after a search of the house.
Kabaş was referred to a court after her detention with prosecutors seeking her being placed under judicial control. The court ruled to release Kabaş without such a measure.
The journalist continued her critical tweets after her release. “I am not afraid…I am not afraid… The thieves, the corrupt ones, the ones who give and accept bribes, the liars, the hypocrites, those who violate the law MUST BE AFRAID…” she tweeted on Dec. 3