On 23 January 2026, police detained and placed under house arrest Furkan Karabay, a Turkish investigative journalist and court reporter 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. 

These allegations stem from his coverage of the case targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), which led to the March 2025 detention of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, the nationwide protests that followed and the subsequent crackdown. The charges brought against him in May 2025 – and his current house arrest – relate to the same reporting.

On 15 May, police arbitrarily detained Karabay at his home in Istanbul. He was brought before a court later that day and officially charged with ‘making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism’ under Article 6/1 of Anti-Terror Law No 3713, which carries up to three years in