I’ve written repeatedly in these pages about the Turkish authorities’ use of criminal defamation and the so-called ‘disinformation law’ to silence writers and journalists. PEN and other lobby groups argue that these laws are a disproportionate, unnecessary response to the need to protect reputations, have a chilling effect and undermine freedom of expression.

The latest victim of these repressive measures is Alican Uludağ, a prominent investigative journalist in Turkey specialising in human rights violations, corruption cases and judicial affairs. Born in 1986, Uludağ began his career with the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet in 2008 and is currently a correspondent with the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. He has faced multiple court proceedings on account of his reporting and received the Raif Badawi Award for Courageous Journalists from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in 2021 for his exposure of corruption in Turkey. His persecution is seen by many as yet another blatant attempt by the government to stifle independent voices and instil fear.

On the evening of 19 February 2026, police detained Uludağ in front of his family in Ankara. They searched his home and confiscated his IT equipment. He was brought before a judge in Istanbul, who formally arrested him on 20 February, accused of ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan, ‘denigrating the Turkish nation, state, and institutions’ and ‘publicly spreading disinformation’ – criminal offences that carry lengthy prison terms. His appeals were subsequently rejected. Uludağ is currently being held in the high-security Marmara Prison in Silivri, near Istanbul. 

Uludağ’s arrest is part of a sustained clampdown on writers and journalists who are being targeted for defending their right to freedom of expression. Journalist and author Furkan Karabay (LR, March 2026) was held under house arrest for two months in connection with his reporting. Known for his work on politically sensitive trials and allegations involving public officials, he was accused of ‘publicly spreading misleading information’ and of compromising officials involved in counterterrorism work for his social media posts regarding the March 2025 detention of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, the nationwide protests that followed and the subsequent crackdown. A court has lifted the house arrest and international travel ban imposed on the journalist, but he will probably continue to face judicial harassment for his work. According to IFEX (formerly the International Freedom of Expression Exchange), ‘judicial supervision’ measures in Turkey serve as ‘invisible prisons’, a ‘model that the state uses to keep the number of “political prisoners” low on the international stage, thereby mitigating reactions from the outside world and reducing the costs of the case’. Writer and Turkish PEN member Merdan Yanardağ was arrested on 27 October 2025 on espionage charges, presumably on politically motivated grounds, and faces up to twenty years in prison. On 6 January 2026, imprisoned writer and opposition politician Selahattin Demirtaş (LR, June 2019) received an additional seventeen-and-a-half-month sentence for ‘insulting’ President Erdoğan in 2015 speeches. 

At the time of writing, the first hearing of Uludağ’s case is scheduled for 21 May in Ankara. Although he lives there and his case file is held there, Uludağ will attend the first hearing via SEGBIS (a video conferencing system) without leaving Silivri Prison. Uludağ believes this to be in violation of his right to a fair trial: ‘My file was sent to Ankara, but I remained in Istanbul … Can there be a trial without seeing the judge’s face?’

Uludağ wants to appear in person and claims, ‘The court does not want me to make my defence before the court at the Ankara Courthouse, where I have worked as a reporter for sixteen years. Why this secrecy? On 20 February, I was brought before the prosecutor and the judge at the Çağlayan Courthouse in a way hidden from everyone and was arrested. Now, during the trial phase, a “secret defendant” practice is being attempted.’

To mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, Uludağ wrote a letter, published by Deutsche Welle in Turkish, in which he stated: 

Why is a journalist arrested? Because he committed a crime? No; because he is feared. Journalists are thrown into jail with the stick of the judiciary simply because they are deemed ‘dangerous’. Because the ruling power wants to establish an unaccountable order. A thornless rose garden … The arrests of Merdan Yanardağ, myself, and most recently İsmail Arı are all attempts to punish investigative, questioning and critical journalism. 

In Turkey, journalism has been forced into submission during this administration and transformed into a public relations activity. The essence of journalism – asking questions, investigating, and criticising – has been shelved under this oppressive environment. We have reached a point where the government now dictates what is to be written. This is called: press-release journalism. Media outlets under the government’s control consider publishing the press releases handed to them to be journalism. Thus, the political government directly decides what the public will and will not know. 

Readers might like to send appeals urging the Turkish government to drop all charges against investigative journalist Alican Uludağ, calling on the authorities to stop using the criminal justice system and judicial supervision to silence critical voices.

Appeals to be addressed to: 

Akın Gürlek, Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Adalet Bakanlığı
06659 Kizilay Ankara
Turkey
Email: info@adalet.gov.tr

His Excellency Osman Koray Ertaş
Turkish Embassy
43 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8PA
Email: embassy.london@mfa.gov.tr