Istanbul, February 23, 2026—Turkish authorities must free journalist Alican Uludağ without delay and stop actively intimidating the news media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.
Uludağ, a court reporter for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, was detained by the police who raided his house in Ankara on the evening of February 19. He was transferred to Istanbul, where a court arrested him pending trial on Friday. The journalist was imprisoned on the suspicion of “insulting” Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan because of several posts on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
“There are no insults, only harsh criticism, in the social media posts that led to the arrest of journalist Alican Uludağ,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Arresting a journalist for critical comments alone is a message meant to intimidate the news media, attempting to scare them from reporting on and offering commentary about politics. Uludağ must be freed immediately.”
Uludağ denied any wrongdoing in his testimony to the arresting court and said: “If we cannot criticize the judiciary, members of the judiciary, [and] the president of the country, why are we practicing journalism?”
Uludağ is also being investigated for spreading disinformation and demeaning state institutions, and could be charged for those too alongside the insult accusation, according to court documents CPJ reviewed. The 22 social media posts included as evidence in the prosecution’s argument are critical of the president and his policies. A court date will be set after an indictment is written with formal charges.
A lawyer for Uludağ said the arrest was unlawful and that his client should not be prosecuted and that he should not be imprisoned in Istanbul, as he resides in Ankara.
CPJ’s emailed request for comment from the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office did not receive a reply.