The undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organizations today strongly condemn the arrest of Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı over his political commentary during a YouTube live broadcast and call for his immediate release.
Fatih Altaylı, a prominent journalist and columnist, was taken into custody and arrested on 21 June 2025, hours after a segment of his YouTube broadcast went viral on social media. In the video, Altaylı offered critical political commentary in response to a poll suggesting that 70 percent of the Turkish public would oppose a proposal to allow the Turkish President to remain in power indefinitely.
Following this, some social media accounts began spreading edited clips from his broadcast that mischaracterized his comments as threatening speech. Shortly afterward, Oktay Saral, a senior advisor to the Turkish President, publicly targeted Altaylı on social media, writing that he was ‘in hot water already.’ Within ten hours, Altaylı had been detained.
Under Turkish law, if a person is under investigation for a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of two years or less, they typically cannot be held in pretrial detention. Initially, Altaylı was held on suspicion of making a criminal threat—an offense that is applicable to threats against any individual, and falls into this category. Prosecutors later reinterpreted the case and invoked a provision that increases penalties for offenses in which the president is the victim. This provision, which mandates a minimum five-year sentence, allowed authorities to place Altaylı in pretrial detention. However, legal experts argue that this provision applies only to direct physical acts—not verbal statements made through the press—and warn that its use in this case exceeds its intended legal scope.
The Istanbul 10th Criminal Court of Peace approved the prosecutor’s request to jail Altaylı pending trial, citing the “severity of the offense” and a purported ‘risk of flight.’
Following his arrest, Türkiye’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued a warning on June 23 announcing that Altaylı’s YouTube channel must apply for an internet broadcasting license within 72 hours, submit the required documents, and pay a three-month licensing fee in advance, or be closed down.
The undersigned organisations regard this arrest as a clear abuse of criminal law to silence critical political commentary. The decision to interpret Altaylı’s remarks as incitement to assassination is a dangerous expansion of criminal liability, one that threatens to further erode freedom of expression in Türkiye.
We jointly call for the immediate release of Fatih Altaylı and urge Turkish authorities to cease exploiting vague legal provisions to persecute journalists. A free press must include the right to freedom of expression and critique political leaders without fear of reprisal.
Signed by:
International Press Institute (IPI)
ARTICLE 19 Europe
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Foreign Media Association (FMA Turkey)
Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA)
Progressive Journalists Association (PJA)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)