Turkish 15-year-old arrested for 'insulting' Erdogan

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Turkey for allegedly "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported on Thursday.

The teenager, identified only by the initials UE, spent Wednesday night in a police station after being stopped by officers outside an internet cafe, Cihan news agency said.

He was set to be brought before a court on Thursday which would decide whether to charge the minor or fine him.

The Cihan agency did not give details of the boy's alleged "insult".

Local reports said he was arrested in the central province of Kayseri, but no exact location was given.

It is illegal under Turkish law to insult the president and those found guilty face up to four years in jail.

The arrest in December of a 17-year-old accused of insulting Erdogan sparked outrage in the country and abroad, fuelling concerns about freedom of speech in Turkey. The teenager was later given an 11-month suspended sentence.

The number of prosecutions for insulting the head of state have risen since Erdogan's election as president last August.

Earlier this month the editor of a leading English-language daily newspaper, Today's Zaman, was arrested on suspicion of insulting Erdogan in a series of posts on Twitter.