Taking into account the time Uludağ had spent in prison since his arrest in February on charges of “insulting the president,” the court has ruled to release the journalist and postpone the case until 18 September

DENİZ NAZLIM, ANKARA

The first hearing in the trial of imprisoned journalist Alican Uludağ on charges of “insulting the president,” “spreading false information,” and “denigrating the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the state’s judicial organs.” was held at the at the Ankara 57th Criminal Court of First Instance on 21 May 2026.

Prior to the hearing, which was monitored by P24, the location of the courtroom where the trial was to be held was changed twice. Uludağ’s lawyers had requested a larger courtroom from the court before the hearing, citing insufficient capacity. However, the court did not grant this request, and the hearing took place in the 57th Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance’s own courtroom.

Uludağ joined the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from the Marmara Prison, where he has been held for three months, while his lawyers were present in the courtroom. The hearing was also attended by Uludağ’s family, representatives of press organizations, journalists, and a large number of people.

After the identification process, Alican Uludağ began his defense. Uludağ started his defense by greeting his colleagues in prison, Pınar Gayıp, Merdan Yanardağ, and İsmail Arı. Uludağ stated that his right to a defense had been violated because his request to attend the hearing in Ankara had not been accepted. Uludağ asked, “My office and desk are on the lower floor of this building—what business do I have in Istanbul?”

Stating that he works as a journalist in the public interest, Uludağ continued: “I felt at ease when I entered prison. Because I am not paying the price for a crime. The reason for my detention is to silence journalists and obstruct the freedom of the press enshrined in the constitution. It is not me who is being obstructed, but the freedom of the press.”

Uludağ, noting that the indictment filed against him contained no concrete evidence regarding the charge of “insulting the president,” went on, “I said, ‘Silivri is a symbolic site of the Erdoğan regime.’ That is why I was imprisoned. For 90 days, I have been wondering: where is the insult here? I am being held on suspicion of fleeing and destroying evidence. I have two children, aged 5 and 11—how could I flee? I have given statements in dozens of investigations so far—which one did I flee from? If you release me today, the place I will go is my office on the lower floor of the courthouse.”

Continuing his defense, Uludağ said, “The Disinformation Directorate could not refute my post claiming there is a link between the judiciary and the palace. A year later, the prosecutor found a crime here. The information I provided is accurate. There is nothing missing or added. I am a judicial reporter. My posts aim to inform the public. I did not commit a crime; I practiced journalism. I demand my acquittal.”

Following Uludağ, the court proceeded to the statements of his lawyer, Abbas Yalçın. Yalçın said, “The president is still not a party to this case. His lawyer has not filed a criminal complaint. The president does not want Alican to be detained. Who wants it, then? This detention is contrary to the truth. The sole intention is to inflict suffering on Alican. We believe you will put an end to this suffering.”

The trial prosecutor requested the continuation of Uludağ’s detention, citing the grounds that “there are concrete pieces of evidence indicating a strong suspicion of a crime, and the reasons for the impugned crime fall within the legal parameters defined by the law.”

Uludağ, responding to the prosecutor’s opinion regarding the continuation of detention, said, “I have nothing to say in defense of the detention of a journalist who has been held for 90 days based on abstract concepts. If it had been made concrete, it would have been a legally sound opinion.”

Taking into account the time already spent in detention and the lack of evidence to be gathered, the court decided to release journalist Alican Uludağ, and postponed the case until 18 September 2026.

Background of the case

Uludağ was detained in Ankara on 19 February 2026, and brought to Istanbul on charges of “insulting the president” and “spreading false information,” over his social media posts.

As part of an operation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, police raided Uludağ’s home in Ankara. Uludağ was detained over a news report claiming that ISIS members involved in planning the Istanbul Atatürk Airport attack had been released, as well as his social media posts on X. Following his detention, the investigation against Uludağ was expanded to include the charge of “publicly insulting the government of the Republic of Turkey and the state’s judicial organs,” after permission was obtained from the Ministry of Justice. On 20 February, Uludağ gave a statement to the prosecutor’s office at the Istanbul Courthouse.

Following his statement, Uludağ was referred to the criminal court of first instance with a request for pre-trial detention on charges of “insulting the president.” The court ruled to send Uludağ to pre-trial detention on charges of “insulting the president.”

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office finalized the indictment against Uludağ on 30 March. The indictment, which cites 22 social media posts as the basis for the charges, accuses the journalist of “insulting the president,” “spreading false information,” and “publicly insulting the government of the Republic of Turkey and the state’s judicial organs.”

The indictment was submitted to the Istanbul 26th Criminal Court of First Instance. The court accepted the indictment but ruled that the case was “outside its jurisdiction” and ordered the file to be sent to Ankara.