Press defense groups pressure Türkiye to drop charges against indicted journalist News
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Press defense groups pressure Türkiye to drop charges against indicted journalist

Turkish authorities must drop charges brought against journalist Furkan Karabay, multiple press freedom organizations said in a joint statement Monday. 

The groups argued Karabay’s detainment reflects a continuing clampdown on press freedom in Türkiye and warned of over-broad application of the law:

We consider Karabay’s imprisonment and the denial of due process for more than three months as a disproportionate and punitive response to his journalism. Reporting and critical public commentary on government officials must never be criminalised. Equating news coverage and commentary with serious offenses like “targeting officials” is a dangerous distortion.

Karabay was arrested in mid-May and has since spent over 100 days in pre-trial detention. With the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Terrorism Crimes Investigation Bureau, he faces six to 15 years in prison if found guilty. It alleges that the journalist “insulted” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other officials, making them “potential targets for terrorism.” The charges are respectively governed by Arts. 299 and 125 of the Turkish Penal Code and Article 6/1 of the Counter-Terrorism Law (TMK). Karabay pleaded not guilty and stated in his defense that he merely “cited information that was already publicly available.”

The Bureau bases the charges on Karabay’s reporting on the investigations and trials of multiple members of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), where he included names and photos of judicial officials. The CHP is the leading opposition party to the current administration.

In addition, Karabay is charged with insulting judicial officials during his pre-trial detention, where, during his detention review on July 11, he was quoted as addressing the presiding judge, stating: “The decision here will determine whether you are a member of the judiciary or a gang member. If you decide to continue detention, you will also be committing a crime. The decision regarding release is yours; I have no request.”

The second charge of insulting the president is based on Karabay’s public recall of past remarks of Erdoğan in the context of local officials’ deteriorating health.

Article 125 governs general insults against government officials. Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code focuses on specific insults against the president. It has been utilized more broadly by the Turkish government to criminalize voices critical of Erdoğan and drew a verdict by the ECtHR in 2023, ruling that the government had violated the human right to freedom of expression.

Karabay had previously been arrested three times based on similar allegations over his reporting on government corruption and criminal investigations of opposition politicians. The Committee to Protect Journalists views the invocation of counter-terrorism laws against several journalists as part of a broader crackdown on the freedom of the press. The group alleges that the Turkish government and the judiciary jointly use prolonged pretrial detention as a form of punishment.

Türkiye currently ranks 159th out of 180 on the Reporters Without Borders Freedom of Press Index.

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