More journalists arrested, obstructed ahead of NATO summit; appeals court partially overturns conviction of Furkan Karabay; X accounts of Sol Haber and Sendikal Haber banned

At least 39 people, including journalists, lawyers, academics, writers and activists, were arrested in operations carried out across several provinces on 5 July, two days before the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara on 7-8 July.

Among those arrested were Abbas Vural, a reporter for bianet and Niha+; Buse Söğütlü, foreign affairs editor at T24; and Ceren Erdoğdu, editor at Oda TV. The three journalists were taken into custody during early morning raids on their homes. All three journalists were released after being kept in detention for four days.

According to a statement by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, arrest warrants had been issued for 50 people accused of activity within “Revolutionary Youth Associations,” which the prosecutor’s office described as the youth structure of the leftist THKP/C Dev-Yol Revolutionary Movement. Operations were reported in several provinces, including Istanbul, Aksaray, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Ankara, Niğde, Ağrı and İzmir.

T24 quoted Söğütlü’s lawyer, Erman Öztürk, as saying that the arrests appeared to be linked to the NATO summit.

Press organizations condemned the detentions and called for the release of journalists, saying the detention of journalists over their professional activities violated the right to liberty and security, as well as the public’s right to information and freedom of the press and expression.

On the other hand, police broke up a group seeking to protest against the NATO Summit in Ankara on 7 July. During the intervention, a large number of people were detained, whilst some MPs and political party representatives were surrounded by the police. The police also attempted to prevent journalists covering the protest from filming, and members of the press were removed from the area.

The operations came amid a broader crackdown in the capital. A 13-day ban on public assembly had been imposed in the capital on 22 June. The following day, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 241 people on the grounds of alleged “links to terrorist organizations,” and 225 people were detained. Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of Kaos GL, was among those arrested. He was subsequently imprisoned pending trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” on 25 June.

Journalists Berfin Ay, Hazar Dost and Kayhan Ayhan detained

Journalist Hazar Dost was detained on 6 July whilst shopping in the neighbourhood where he lives in Istanbul. BirGünreporter Kayhan Ayhan, meanwhile, was detained at his home in Istanbul on the same day.

Journalist Doğu Eroğlu reported that the reason for Dost’s detention was an “incomplete statement” in a case that had previously been ruled on by a local court but had been referred back from the appellate court.

Eroğlu wrote that although it had been communicated to the prosecutor’s office that Dost could go to give a statement at any time if summoned, the request was rejected. Dost, who will spend the night at the local police station, is due to appear in court at Küçükçekmece Courthouse on 7 July.

Ayhan, who has been monitoring the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) case since the first hearing, was taken into custody on charges of “spreading false information” over his tweets regarding the developments during the IBB hearings, and transferred to the Istanbul Police Headquarters.

Furthermore, Berfin Ay, Editor-in-Chief of Azadîya Welat, was detained in the Cizre district of Şırnak. Ay, who had arrived at the border crossing to travel to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, was detained following a tip-off that turned out to be unfounded; she was referred to the court with a request for judicial supervision without having been questioned by the public prosecutor’s office. The court ruled that Ay should be released subject to a judicial supervision order requiring her to sign in once a week.

Joint statement: Rights organizations express alarm at wave of detentions of journalists

P24 and 26 other rights organizations are expressing profound alarm at the recent wave of detentions and arrests of journalists and civil society representatives in Türkiye in the immediate lead-up to the NATO Summit in Ankara on 7-8 July

Stressing that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has been severely violated during this period, the statement read, “Multiple journalists were blocked from seeing their lawyers, violating the right to legal counsel. The detention and arrest of journalists for their reporting and their social media posts constitutes a clear violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and international media freedom standards.”

The signatory organizations have demanded the release of all journalists, that all charges be dropped and a stop to using of anti-terror legislation and disinformation laws to suppress independent journalism.

Click here to access the full statement.

Appeals court overturns Furkan Karabay's dual convictions

An appeals court has overturned journalist Furkan Karabay’s convictions for “insulting the president” and “slander,” ruling that he could not be separately punished for two offenses arising from the same remarks.

Karabay was prosecuted over comments he made during an interview on journalist Mirgün Cabas’s YouTube channel following complaints filed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his three children. A lower court convicted him of both offenses concerning Erdoğan but acquitted him of insulting Ahmet Burak Erdoğan, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan and Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar.

In its decision, the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals said Article 44 of the Turkish Penal Code requires courts to impose punishment only for the offense carrying the heavier penalty when a single act constitutes more than one crime. It upheld Karabay’s acquittals concerning Erdoğan’s children.

The case was returned to the lower court for a new sentence to be imposed under a single charge. A hearing scheduled for 7 July could not be held because the judge was on leave.

Access block on X accounts of Sol Haber and Sendikal Haber

On 4 July, a court decision to block access to Sol Haber’s X account was issued on the grounds of “protecting national security and public order.”

The access block was implemented by X on 5 July. Sol Haber’s X account was made “invisible” from within Turkey.

Meanwhile, access to the X account of Sendikal Haber, which shares news on the labour struggle, has also been blockedin Turkey.

Following the blocking, the Turkish Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Trade Union Solidarity (DSD) issued a written statement. In the statement, titled "Yasaklar Emekten Yana Mücadelemize Engel Olamaz" (Bans Cannot Hinder Our Struggle for Labour,) it was noted that the Sendikal Haber account had been blocked, and it was stated that the political authorities have long been attempting to silence dissenting voices through bandwidth throttling, court rulings and access blocks.

The case file in Timur Soykan’s case referred to the newly appointed prosecutor

The case against journalist Timur Soykan on charges of “spreading false information” and “incitement to commit a crime” over his social media posts resumed at the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

Soykan attended the hearing accompanied by his lawyer, Gamze Pamuk.

A new prosecutor was appointed to the case.

Pamuk, who read out the social media posts forming the basis of the charges in court, stated that these were merely expressions of opinion.

Pamuk, requesting that a new opinion on the case be prepared due to the change of prosecutor, sought her client’s acquittal.

The court decided to refer the case file to the newly appointed prosecutor and adjourned the case until 11 September 2026.

Trial of 19 journalists in Diyarbakır adjourned

The 11th hearing in the trial of 19 journalists, who were imprisoned pending trial on 16 June 2022 as part of an investigation led by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on 9 July 2026.

At the hearing, which was monitored by P24, Elif Üngür, one of the journalists on trial, and the journalists’ lawyer, Resul Temur, were present. The Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association and the Mezopotamya Women Journalists’ Association also monitored the hearing as observers.

The court, which ruled that the travel ban should remain in place, decided to refer the case file to the public prosecutor’s office so that a final opinion on the case could be prepared.

The trial was adjourned until 10 November 2026.

Click here to read the details of the article.

Furkan Karabay’s compensation case adjourned until February 2027

The hearing in the TL 150,000 claim for non-pecuniary damages brought against journalist Furkan Karabay, following a complaint by Yakup Ali Kahveci, Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor of Antalya, was held at the 12th Civil Court of First Instance in Istanbul on 8 July 2026.

At the hearing, the defendant’s counsel, Özge Naz Akkaya, stated that the criminal case, which had been made a pending issue, had reached the appeal stage, and requested that the court await the finalisation of the decision in that case.

The court ruled that the current status of the criminal case, which had been designated as a pending issue, should be obtained and that the decision in that case should be awaited until it became final.

The case was adjourned until 10 February 2027.

Hakan Tosun murder case: Court orders new expert examination of footage 

An Istanbul court on 8 July ordered a new expert examination of security camera footage in the trial concerning the killing of journalist and video activist Hakan Tosun. The two defendants, Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin, will remain imprisoned pending trial.

At the second hearing before the Bakırköy 17th High Criminal Court, lawyers representing Tosun’s family argued that the footage should be reviewed by a new panel of experts and requested further investigation into a third person allegedly present at the scene. They also disputed claims by the defense concerning substances found in Tosun’s blood, saying these resulted from medication administered while he was in intensive care.

The prosecutor requested the continuation of the defendants’ imprisonment pending trial. The court ruled that the footage should be sent for expert analysis before the prosecutor prepares a final opinion and adjourned the case until 22 September.

Tosun was attacked in Esenyurt on 10 October 2025 and died in hospital two days later. Murat and Şahin are charged with “intentional killing,” which carries a possible life sentence. P24 monitored the hearing.

Click here to read the full article.

Trial of Züleyha Müldür and two other defendants on "terrorism" charges adjourned until September

The 5th hearing in the case brought against Etkin News Agency (ETHA) reporters Züleyha Müldür and two other defendants on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “terrorism propaganda” was held at the 14th Istanbul High Criminal Court on 7 July 2026.

Müldür was present at the hearing.

Müldür and the other defendants stated that they would not be adding to their defenses at this stage and that they were seeking acquittal.

The court rejected Müldür’s request for release pending trial, noting that the prosecution’s closing statement could be presented between the hearings.

The trial was adjourned until 28 September 2026.

Second hearing in "espionage" case: Court rules to keep all defendants in jail

An Istanbul court on 6 July ruled to keep imprisoned journalist Merdan Yanardağ and three co-defendants in pretrial detention in a case in which they are charged with “political espionage.”

Yanardağ, editor-in-chief of TELE1, is standing trial alongside imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, İmamoğlu’s campaign director Necati Özkan and Hüseyin Gün before the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court. At the second hearing, a former assistant to Yanardağ testified that she had never witnessed him receiving money from a prosecution witness, contradicting an allegation cited in the case file.

The prosecutor requested the continuation of the defendants’ imprisonment pending trial, arguing that judicial control measures would be insufficient and that responses to requests sent to public institutions were still outstanding. Yanardağ’s lawyers said the indictment failed to identify the state on whose behalf the alleged espionage had been carried out and presented his journalistic work and political analysis as criminal evidence.

The court said digital examination reports requested from the Information and Communications Technologies Authority, the police and the National Intelligence Organization had not yet been submitted. It ordered Yanardağ, İmamoğlu, Özkan and Gün to remain in pretrial detention and adjourned the case until 29 September. P24 monitored the hearing.

Yanardağ was arrested on 24 October 2025 and imprisoned pending trial three days later. A state-appointed trustee was also placed in charge of the company that owns TELE1 on the day of his arrest.

Click here to read the full article from the hearing.

At least 23 journalists and media workers behind bars in Turkey

As of 10 July 2026, there are at least 23 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either awaiting trial or serving finalized sentences.

The full list can be accessed here.