Istanbul, May 16, 2025—Turkish authorities should immediately release freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay, who was detained during a police raid early Thursday in Istanbul, and stop detaining journalists who are trying to report the news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. The detention marks at least Karabay’s third in recent years.
Later Thursday, an Istanbul court arrested Karabay, pending trial, on suspicion of “making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism” and “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The May 15 arrest order, which CPJ reviewed, cited the journalist’s April social media posts about the prosecution of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the arrested opposition mayor of Istanbul.
Karabay’s posts on X after March 21 have been deleted, although CPJ could not confirm when or by whom. On May 16, his X account was blocked in Turkey “in response to a legal demand.”
“Courts in Turkey keep arresting reporter Furkan Karabay on similar suspicions year after year, which points to a pattern of making him an example of due to his reporting,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities should free Karabay without delay and end the chokehold they have on the flow of the news in the country.”
In a separate trial last month, Karabay was found guilty of defamation and “insulting” Erdoğan. He received a suspended sentence of 25 months for reporting on the main opposition party’s claims of corruption against the president’s family.
On November 9, 2024, an Istanbul court arrested Karabay, pending trial, on a similar charge of suspicion of “making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism,” “insulting a public servant,” and “knowingly distributing misleading information to the public,” due to reporting on the arrest of an opposition mayor. He was released the next day. That trial is yet to begin.
On December 28, 2023, another Istanbul court arrested Karabay on suspicion of “making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism,” as well as defamation, due to his reporting on allegations of corruption in the judiciary. He was released pending trial in January 2024, and acquitted of both charges in October.
Journalists in Turkey who report on the judiciary or judicial developments are frequently charged with “making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism.”
CPJ’s email requesting comment from the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office did not receive a reply.
Editor’s note: This text has been updated in the fifth paragraph to clarify that it was a 25-month suspended sentence.