Canadian found guilty of insulting Turkey’s president released as lawyer appeals case
A Canadian woman detained in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting the country’s president, but said she has been released from prison as her lawyer pursues an appeal of the case.
Ece Heper said she is happy to be out of prison, where she had been held since late December after being charged for comments she wrote about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media.
“I still haven’t processed this,” Heper told The Canadian Press in a brief interview Wednesday. “I need a break, but I’m OK.”
Heper, a dual Canadian-Turkish citizen, said she had been awake for more than two days after a whirlwind trial in the northeastern city of Kars followed by her release and a 10-hour drive to a friend’s place in southern Turkey.