HSBC Turkey CEO being probed for 2013 Erdoğan retweet
A retweet of a portion of a movie about Hitler’s downfall may see the CEO jailed, as insulting the Turkish president is a crime
Istanbul — A Turkish prosecutor is investigating the head of HSBC Holding’s Turkish unit for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Cumhuriyet newspaper, targeting one of the most high-profile executives in the state’s crackdown on dissent. The probe relates to HSBC Turkey CEO Selim Kervanci’s retweet of a video during the biggest protests of Erdoğan’s rule five years ago, Cumhuriyet reported, without saying where it got the information. The video was from the 2004 German movie Downfall, set during Adolf Hitler’s last days and depicting the collapse of Nazi Germany, the opposition newspaper said. Kervanci gave his deposition to police in Istanbul last September, according to Cumhuriyet. HSBC Turkey declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg. Insulting Erdoğan is a crime in Turkey. Erdoğan has revived his attacks on those he blames for organising the protests ahead of local elections in March. In rallies and speeches, he described the demonstrations as ...
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