Insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the venerated founder of modern Turkey, remains a criminal offense, and laws protecting his legacy are being robustly applied by Turkey’s religious conservatives who have governed unchallenged since 2002. The latest violator was a 23-year-old woman who was arrested on July 22 for publicly declaring her hatred of the national hero.

Safiye Inci shot a video of herself at Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara saying she didn’t like Ataturk, that he hadn’t saved the country and that he couldn’t “even be Tayyip's shit.”

Inci was referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Twittersphere erupted in howls of protest. The hashtag #SafiyeInciTutuklansin (“Safiye Inci should be arrested”) starting trending as the video went viral. Inci, who has since apologized and retracted her comments in a second video, could face up to three years in prison.

There may seem to be nothing unusual about her case, as countless people have been prosecuted for daring to criticize Ataturk. A government hotline invites citizens to snitch on others who attack Turkey’s most famous son. Yet Inci continues to draw debate mainly for the lack of reaction to her plight in pro-Islamic circles.