ISTANBUL — A Turkish high school student arrested on charges of insulting President Tayyip Erdogan was released on Friday pending trial but could still face up to four years in prison if convicted, local media reported. The 16-year-old was arrested after he read out a statement criticizing the ruling AK Party and Erdogan personally over corruption allegations during a ceremony last week to commemorate the killing of a Turkish soldier by Islamists in the 1920s. Turkey's penal code forbids insulting the president, but the boy's arrest sparked fierce criticism among Erdogan's opponents, who accused him of growing increasingly authoritarian and intolerant of dissent. A court in the city of Konya ruled in favor of an appeal submitted by the teenager's lawyers on Thursday asking for his release, Dogan News Agency and several newspapers reported. — Reuters
