A wannabe influencer who posted a video dancing around a flagpole while on vacation in Turkey is facing up to five years in prison for disrespecting the national flag.
Instagrammer @blittem, a tourist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, posted a video two weeks ago of her show off her gymnastic moves on a flagpole atop the rooftop of the historic Uchisar castle in Cappadocia in central Turkey.
Her post for her 9,000 followers was quickly flooded with comments from people accusing her of disrespecting the Turkish flag — with authorities then filing a criminal complaint, according to NewsX.
The Nevsehir Governor’s Office confirmed that the woman is under investigation for insulting the flag — and potentially faces up to five years in prison on two separate charges..
The conservative AK Party’s Nevsehir Deputy Emre Caliskan condemned the stunt, saying that the iconic red and white star and crescent flag “is our honour, the apple of our eye.”
“This disrespect for our national and spiritual values is completely unacceptable,” he continued.
“We will closely monitor the process to ensure the necessary legal action is taken against this individual. We will not tolerate any disrespect for our nation’s values,” Caliskan said.
The governor’s office said a criminal complaint had been filed and that the Nevsehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a judicial investigation. The woman has not been identified beyond her Instagram handle.
