Turkey detains 9 people for not standing up during national anthem in football match

Turkish security forces have detained nine people in a football match in southern Diyarbakir province on Sunday for not standing up during the singing of Turkey’s national anthem.

A teenager with epilepsy is among the detainees, Mezopotamya Agency said.

The incident took place during a Second League game between Amedspor and Menemenspor in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir province on Sunday.

17 Amedspor fans were also sued for the same reason in October. The Chief public prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit against 17 people on charges for “'insulting the signs of the state's sovereignty” during a football match played in May, where the court ruled for their acquittal.

"In this present case, there is no direct insulting of the national anthem, but a disrespect. The act of disrespecting the national anthem is not regulated as a crime in the penal code,” the court said.