Cypriot journalist released after arrest in Turkey (Update)

Cypriot journalist Guren Tilki was released late on Friday evening, after having arrested in Turkey earlier that day for allegedly insulting the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a social media post.

Tilki travelled to the country as part of a 78-member delegation of journalists sent by the Cyprus Turkish Sports Writers’ Association (KTSYD) and was arrested on arrival at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport.

However, the case was dropped shortly before 11pm local time (10pm in Cyprus) and he was permitted to enter Turkey and join up with the KTSYD’s delegation.

The KTSYD said the offending post had been written five years ago, with reports in the Turkish Cypriot press saying that the tweet had been made about a football match between Galatasaray and Istanbul Basaksehir.

Basaksehir have long had links to Erdogan and his ruling AK Parti, with Erdogan even having been the club’s chairman during the 1990s.

It is expected that Tilki will give a statement to a prosecutor on Saturday before a decision is made regarding the next steps in the legal process.

Tilki is currently employed by news website Bagimsiz Gazete, having previously worked for newspaper Kibris.

The Cyprus Mail contacted Bagimsiz Gazete for comment.