Turkish teen released over PM slur

A secondary school student who was jailed for allegedly insulting Turkey’s president was released from custody yesterday after his arrest caused uproar.

The 16-year-old was arrested on Wednesday, a day after he took part in a small left-wing student rally commemorating the death of a pro-secular army officer slain by Islamists 84 years ago.

The boy, who can only be identified by his initials MEA to protect his identity as a minor, made a speech during the rally in which he said the students didn’t regard Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the president, but as the “thieving owner of the illegal palace”, according to court papers .