Turkish police temporarily detain designer of viral stickers criticizing Erdoğan for inflation

Mahir Akkoyun, who designed stickers that read "Did this product seem expensive to you? Thanks to Erdoğan" was detained on charges of “insulting the president” on April 7. The stickers went viral on social media after users shared pictures of stickers that were put on market shelves. The designer was released after giving his testimony.

Friday April 07 2023 11:59 am

Duvar English

Mahir Akkoyun, who prepared stickers with the photos of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli to draw attention to the rising prices and inflation in the markets, was detained on April 7. The designer was released after giving his testimony.

Turkish police detained Mahir Akkoyun from his home.

The stickers that read "Did this product seem expensive to you? Thanks to Erdoğan" was put on supermarket shelves and went viral on social media on April 6.

Şöyle stickerlar tasarladım.

İnsanların enflasyonla ve hayat pahalılığıyla en çok yüzleştikleri yerler olan marketlerde, manavlarda, pazarlarda ve alışveriş merkezlerinde yer alan ürünlere ve ürün rafları gibi yerlere yapıştırılsın diye. pic.twitter.com/YpWtjYAMDT
— mahirgra (@mahirgra) April 5, 2023

The designer shared a tweet about his detention just before he was taken into custody.

Gözaltına alınıyorum.
— mahirgra (@mahirgra) April 7, 2023

Akkoyun's lawyer Berfin Kaya told ANKA news agency, "The reason for his detention is the designs he shared on Twitter, and he is currently under custody for insulting the president."

The stickers read: "This product is expensive because of us. Keep this in mind when you vote (Above)," "Is this product expensive for you? Thanks to Erdoğan (Below)."

Representatives of civil society organizations gathered to support Akkoyun in front of the courthouse in the Aegean İzmir province where Akkoyun was brought to for his testimony.

They stated that his detention is an intimidation against the entire opposition, just days before the elections that will be held on May 14.

Increasing inflation and food prices are on the agenda in Turkey, especially since 2021. The economic problems are seen as one of the most important issues in the run-up to the elections.