Now Turkish PM brands journalist as 'shameless woman'

August 09, 2014 03:57

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today faced a new outcry over his attitude to the media and women after he branded a prominent female journalist a "shameless woman" and told her "to know your place".

Just ahead of Sunday's presidential election which he is clear favourite to win, Erdogan savaged Amberin Zaman, who writes for the Economist and the Turkish daily Taraf, over comments she made in a television debate.

She had asked the main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the debate whether any Muslim society was capable of challenging its authorities.

Erdogan lashed out at Zaman, without mentioning her directly by name, at an election rally in the eastern city of Malatya yesterday, calling her a "shameless woman".

"A militant in the guise of a journalist, a shameless woman... Know your place!" he declared.

"They gave you a pen and you are writing a column in a newspaper... and you insult a society that is 99 percent Muslim," he said, drawing loud boos from the crowd.

This is not the first time Erdogan has lashed out at journalists, who have come under increasing pressure in Turkey, which has more reporters behind bars than any other country in the world.

Days ago, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc had caused a furore by suggesting women should not laugh loudly in public

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