A Turkish Cypriot academic, who is being prosecuted for insulting Turkish president Tayip Erdogan, on Wednesday denied the allegations.

Dr Hasan Ulas Altiok announced on his social media that he has been summoned by the authorities over a lawsuit against him after he shared an article that allegedly aimed to humiliate and insult Erdogan.

As Altiok said, the article, which was not authored by him, was published under a Turkish Cypriot title roughly translated in English as “Those good people rode away on those beautiful horses and left, he could not ride and stayed with us.”

“I did not write this post. I didn’t even see a post like that,” the academic said.

The article disrupted the peace and friendship between Turkey and northern Cyprus, he added, as reported by Yeniduzen.

In response, the academic said it is this sort of “fascist behaviours” that are disrupting the peace and friendship between Turkey and the north. Turkish Cypriot people will not succumb to such pressure, he added.

“We are not scared of you one bit,” he said.