Swedish woman accused of insulting Turkish PM released

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Sarah Olsson was detained June 29 during a protest in Istanbul’s Taksim Square regarding the deadly recent police intervention in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. DHA Photo

A Swedish tourist was released by an Istanbul court today after being held under arrest for two days on charges of “insulting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan” and other state officials in Turkish during protests in Istanbul's Taksim Square on June 29.

Sarah Olsson was detained June 29 during a protest in Taksim Square regarding the deadly police intervention in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır's Lice district.

Olsson, 24, allegedly insulted state officials in Turkish with the rest of the protesting group. However, she denied the accusations as she does not speak Turkish.

She was one of a group of 11 people including a 14-year-old boy who were fiercely intervened with and detained by police.

Olsson’s lawyer, Burak Mengü, said his client was studying journalism at Stockholm University and she was there to observe the ongoing protests. The lawyer also said she did not speak Turkish.

Olsson is supposed to return to Sweden tonight at 9 p.m.

Mengü added that if Olsson had not been detained, she had planned to travel in southern Turkey for the rest of her vacation and remain in the country until Aug. 13.