Law & Justice
Turkish Deutsche Welle journalist says he has been detained again
Turkish journalist Alican Uludag, who works with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, said he had been detained again two months after being granted conditional release from jail.
Uludag wrote on X that he was being taken into custody. A colleague said it was because of his tweets, though it was not clear which posts were involved and there was no immediate statement from officials.
Ankara prosecutor's office said an investigation had been opened 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 custody in Istanbul until his trial began on May 21, when a court granted him conditional release and adjourned the hearing until September 18.
Uludag has repeatedly denied the charges. Berlin has denounced them as baseless, and Amnesty International pressed for his release.
DW Director General Barbara Massing said Uludag's re-arrest was deeply concerning. She said journalistic work must not be criminalised, that DW expected his rights to be fully respected, and that the broadcaster stood by him.
Many people have faced charges of insulting the president in Turkey in recent years. Observers say the charge is often used to silence critics of Erdogan. Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders has said Uludag could face up to four years and eight months in jail if convicted.
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
It was unclear which tweets were linked to the reported re-arrest.
There was no immediate statement from officials on the reported re-arrest.
Source
AFP news report published on .