Journalists Mehmet Yetim and Ali Barış Kurt released from prison; reporters prevented from filming as police storm CHP headquarters; court orders reinstatement of laid off TELE 1 employees

Journalists Mehmet Yetim and Ali Barış Kurt released from prison

Journalist Mehmet Yetim, who had been jailed pending trial since 18 April 2026 on charges of “spreading false information” over a report concerning an alleged attack by a parent on a teacher in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, was released on 22 May.

Yetim had previously been granted release on 16 May, but the decision was suspended after the prosecutor’s office objected, resulting in the continuation of his detention until the court issued a second release order.

The case against Yetim stems from a social media post and news report regarding the alleged attack at a school in Siverek. Authorities launched an investigation under Article 217/A of the Turkish Criminal Code, which criminalizes the dissemination of “misleading information.”

Separately, journalist Ali Barış Kurt was also released after serving 1 year and 3 months in prison on a conviction for “terrorism propaganda,” following the upholding of his 2-year and 4-month sentence by the Court of Cassation.

Kurt had been expected to regain his freedom in November 2025, but the Prison Administration and Observation Board blocked his release on the grounds that he had “shown no remorse.”

Reporters prevented from filming as police storm CHP headquarters

Journalists covering a police raid on the headquarters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara on 24 May 2026 were obstructed by officers, with some prevented from filming and others subjected to verbal abuse during the operation.

Police stormed the CHP headquarters using rubber bullets and pepper spray after party leader Özgür Özel resisted an order to vacate the headquarters following a court ruling annulling his election as chairman.

The raid followed a ruling issued on 21 May by the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal, which declared the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Congress and 21st Extraordinary Congress “null and void.” The decision effectively annulled the 2023 congress in which Özel was elected CHP leader and provisionally reinstated former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Describing the ruling as unlawful, Özel announced that the party administration would not vacate the headquarters. On 24 May, Kılıçdaroğlu —reinstated by the court decision— submitted a petition requesting police intervention to remove the current leadership from the building.

Police raided the headquarters only hours after the petition was filed, intervening against crowds gathered outside the building and obstructing journalists attempting to document the events.

Court orders reinstatement of laid off TELE 1 employees

The lawsuit filed by Ankara Bureau employees of TELE 1 TV who were dismissed during the trustee process has been resolved. The court ruled that the employees dismissed by the trustee administration must be reinstated.

TELE 1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ was detained on 24 October 2025, on charges of “political espionage.” That same evening, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance had decided to appoint the Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as a trustee for ABC Radio Television and Digital Broadcasting Inc., the owner of the TELE 1 channel. Yanardağ was subsequently imprisoned pending trial on 27 October.

Pro-government newspaper targets dissident journalists

The pro-AKP newspaper Yeni Akit singled out numerous journalists by name—including Cumhuriyet’s Ankara correspondent Sertaç Eş and Cumhuriyet columnist Murat Ağırel—alleging they had received “payments from the CHP.”

Some of the targeted journalists issued statements via their social media accounts denying the allegations. The journalists stated that they would take legal action against the newspaper regarding the article published on its website.

At least 24 journalists and media workers behind bars in Turkey

Following the release of journalists Mehmet Yetim and Ali Barış Kurt, as of 29 May 2026, there are at least 24 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either awaiting trial or serving finalized sentences.

The full list can be accessed here.