A Turkish journalist with German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) was remanded in custody by an Istanbul court Friday for allegedly "insulting the president", prompting Berlin to demand his immediate release.
Alican Uludag was arrested in Ankara late Thursday on the orders of the Istanbul public prosecutor's office, which said it was investigating him on suspicion of "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and "disseminating false news" in connection with "certain posts" on X.
Quizzed by prosecutors in Istanbul, he appeared in court and was remanded in custody over the "insult" charge, the MLSA legal rights group said. He was then reportedly taken to the city's Metris prison.
The German government denounced the move, with Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer saying the allegations against him were "baseless".
"Journalistic work is not a criminal offence. The allegations against Uludag are baseless. He must be released," Weimer said in a statement to AFP.
"Deutsche Welle and its employees must be able to work freely and report independently in Turkey."
Many people, from teenagers to journalists and even a former Miss Turkey, have been hit with the same charge in recent years, which observers say is often used to silence Erdogan's critics.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) said the judge had decided to detain Uludag on the grounds that he could "flee or exert pressure on witnesses".
If convicted, he faces up to four years and eight months in prison, RSF said.
"Without a doubt, Alican Uludag -- an honest journalist known for his public interest investigations -- has been arbitrarily targeted by a justice system subservient to the government," said RSF's Turkey representative Erol Enderoglu, describing his jailing as "outrageous".
'Writing the truth'
Addressing prosecutors, Uludag denied the charges, MLSA said.
"There was no insult directed at the president personally. There were criticisms from a judicial reporter. This country is a democratic state governed by the rule of law. If we can't criticise the president, why are we doing journalism?" said Uludag, who was born in 1986 and has been a court reporter for 18 years.
"If I am writing the truth, this cannot be considered a crime."
Deutsche Welle said Uludag had been arrested "in front of his family by around 30 police officers" with his home searched and computer seized.
It said the case centred on an X post in which Uludag "criticised measures taken by the Turkish government that allegedly led to the release of possible Islamic State group terrorists". He had also "accused the government of corruption".
At issue was the release of six IS members whose convictions for planning a 2016 Istanbul airport bombing that killed 45 people, were overturned by a Turkish court in December 2024.
At the time, Uludag worked for Turkey's NOW TV, but he returned to DW a year later.
Uludag's lawyer Tora Pekin told AFP he also was being investigated for an article about Turkey's plans to repatriate Turkish nationals affiliated with IS.
'Treated like a common criminal'
DW chief Barbara Massing demanded Uludag's immediate release.
"That a journalist is treated like a common criminal, taken away by some 30 police officers.. constitutes targeted intimidation and shows the extent to which the government is massively repressing press freedom," she said in a statement.
On X, the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor described the arrest as "depressing", saying it revealed "the reality of democratic standards" in Turkey.
In a joint statement, 12 Turkish journalists' unions demanded Uludag's immediate release, accusing authorities of "using the justice system as a weapon" and "criminalising" journalism.
"The Turkish authorities are unfortunately continuing their efforts to further tarnish the country’s already grim record, where 27 journalists were imprisoned last year," RSF's Onderoglu said.
The watchdog places Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in its world press freedom rankings.