Civilnet
Turkey’s Olympic medalist wrestler Rıza Kayaalp was suspended for six months by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) for racist remarks on the social media site, Twitter. Kayaalp is a European and World Champion wrestler who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
He targeted Armenians and Greeks, according to Hurriyet Daily News. In his tweets commenting on the Gezi Park unrest, he identified the Armenians as having caused the protests.
One of a series of Tweets included the phrase “Woe to you, you left the square for the Armenians, may God punish you, protesting looters.” Another tweet referred to Armenians and Greeks as “dogs,” but according to Bugun.com.tr, Kayaalp claims this is a mistranslation.
He deleted the tweets shortly after posting.
Yesterday, August 12, 2013, Kayaalp told those close to him that a conspiracy was setup against him, and that those tweets may lead to 2-4 year prison sentence if he is proved to have authored them.
FILA has given him the right to appeal his immediate suspension after a hearing.
On Sunday, August 11, 2013, according to the Turkish Wrestling Federation, Kayaalp received a warm welcome in his home province of Yozgat. Prayers have been said for him there and he has been invited to attend local wrestling competitions.
Stories
