German TV journalist arrested in Türkiye accused of insulting the president on social media

Journalist Alican Uludag was arrested in Türkiye. Reproduction/Social Media Turkish authorities arrested this Friday (20) a correspondent for the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Ankara, accusing him of insulting the president through a series of publications on social media. The court ruling states that Alican Uludag was detained for posts on Platform X that allegedly harmed the “honor, dignity and respectability” of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Thursday night (19), the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it had detained Uludag and opened a criminal investigation into some of his publications. In documents presented to the Court, the journalist stated in his defense that he did not commit any irregularities and that criticism of the president or the Judiciary is part of his right to professional activity. READ ALSO: US Supreme Court overturns Trump tariff See the videos that are trending on g1 DW criticizes ‘deliberate act of intimidation’ “If I have to pay a price for journalism, I am ready. The Public Prosecutor’s Office knows very well that none of the posts cited constitute a crime and that they are just criticism. To date, neither the president nor his lawyers have filed a complaint about these publications”, declared the correspondent. Deutsche Welle reported on its website that the correspondent, who has worked for the broadcaster for several years, was taken into custody in Ankara. DW director general Barbara Massing called the accusations unfounded and said the arrest was “a deliberate act of intimidation that shows how much the government is repressing press freedom.” According to the report published by the broadcaster, the accusations are related to criticisms made by Uludag — in posts on X about 18 months ago — of measures by the Turkish government that led to the release of suspected members of the Islamic State group. A spokesperson for the German government stated that there is great concern about the journalist’s detention and highlighted that DW must be able to act independently in Türkiye. “Journalists, in particular, need to be able to carry out their work freely and without fear of repression,” said the spokesperson, in a statement made in Berlin.

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