Ex-Miss Turkey Acquitted Over Tweet on Coup Victims

Itir Esen, 18, smiles after being crowned Miss Turkey 2017 in Istanbul on Sept. 21, 2017. A court acquitted the former beauty queen on May 3, 2018, of charges of "insulting" the victims of a failed 2016 coup in a Twitter posting that had caused uproar. Esen was stripped of her Miss Turkey 2017 title and was later charged with insulting a section of the public for the tweet she posted as the country held memorials marking the failed coup. (AP Photo, File)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court has acquitted a former beauty queen of charges of “insulting” the victims of the country’s failed 2016 coup in a Twitter post.

Itir Esen was stripped of her Miss Turkey 2017 title and charged with insulting a section of the public for the tweet she posted as the country held memorials marking the failed coup.

The tweet, which was later erased, read: “I got my period on the morning of the July 15 martyrs’ day. I’m marking the day by bleeding as a representation of the martyrs’ blood.”

Esen had denied intention to insult the victims.

The court acquitted her on Thursday citing “insufficient elements” for a crime.

Her title was given to the runner-up who went on to represent Turkey in China.

Categories / Government, International, Politics

Subscribe to our free newsletters

Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.