Law & Justice
Turkish Deutsche Welle journalist released under conditions
An Ankara court ordered the conditional release of Turkish journalist Alican Uludag, who works for Deutsche Welle, a day after he was detained over social media posts, the MLSA media rights group said.
MLSA said the court released Uludag pending trial, ordered him to report to police four times a week and imposed a travel ban.
Uludag had been taken back into custody on Tuesday, two months after being released pending trial in a separate case. He wrote on X that he was being taken into custody. A colleague said he had been detained because of his tweets.
The Ankara chief prosecutor's office confirmed the detention on Tuesday. It said Uludag was under investigation over content shared on X on suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility among the public and spreading false information.
Deutsche Welle and Reporters Without Borders criticised the detention. Reporters Without Borders described the case as relentless persecution of the investigative reporter and court correspondent. Deutsche Welle Director General Barbara Massing said journalistic work must not be criminalised.
Uludag was first arrested at his home in Ankara on February 19 over several posts on X. He was charged with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and disseminating false information. He spent 92 days in detention in Istanbul before being released pending trial when proceedings began on May 21. The next hearing in that case is scheduled for September 18.
Uludag has repeatedly denied the charges. Berlin has described them as baseless, and Amnesty International had pushed for his release.
Update
An Ankara court ordered Alican Uludag's conditional release pending trial on Wednesday.
The MLSA rights group said Uludag must report to police four times a week and is under a travel ban.
The Ankara chief prosecutor's office confirmed he was being investigated over X posts on suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility among the public and spreading false information.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 14:00:58 UTC.
Update
Ankara prosecutor's office said an investigation had been launched into Uludag's social media posts over allegations of inciting public hatred and enmity and spreading false information.
Uludag was first arrested at his home in Ankara on February 19 over posts on X and charged with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and disseminating false news.
He was held in Istanbul until his trial began on May 21, when a court granted him conditional release.
Uludag has repeatedly denied the charges, Berlin has called them baseless, and Amnesty International pushed for his release.
The trial hearing was adjourned until September 18.
DW Director General Barbara Massing said the re-arrest was deeply concerning and said journalistic work must not be criminalised.
Reporters Without Borders has said Uludag could face up to four years and eight months in jail if convicted.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 July 2026 at 16:47:07 UTC.
Update
Ankara prosecutors said an investigation had been launched into Uludag's social media posts over allegations of inciting public hatred and enmity and spreading false information.
Uludag was first arrested at his home in Ankara on February 19 over several posts on X.
He was charged with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and disseminating false news.
He was held in Istanbul until his trial began on May 21, when a court granted conditional release.
The hearing was adjourned until September 18.
Reporters Without Borders has said Uludag risks up to four years and eight months in jail if convicted.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 July 2026 at 15:48:20 UTC.
Update
A colleague told AFP the re-arrest was because of Uludag's tweets, though it was unclear which tweets were involved.
There was no immediate statement from officials, according to the source.
Uludag was first arrested at his home in Ankara on February 19 and held in Istanbul until his trial began on May 21.
Berlin denounced the charges as baseless and Amnesty International pushed for his release.
Reporters Without Borders said Uludag risks up to four years and eight months in jail if convicted.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 July 2026 at 14:42:14 UTC.
Update
The reporter is Alican Uludag.
Uludag wrote on X: "I'm being taken into custody."
He had been arrested on February 19 on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He remained in jail until his trial began on May 21, when a court granted him conditional release.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 July 2026 at 14:04:23 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source attributes the release conditions to MLSA.
The current investigation concerns suspicions stated by prosecutors; the source does not report a conviction.
Source
AFP news report published on .