Oya Lale Özan Arslan jailed; Ali Çağatay released; Timur Soykan acquitted;  Selahattin Günday detained as part of the Kozinoğlu investigation

Oya Lale Özan Arslan imprisoned pending trial

Journalist Oya Lale Özan Arslan was jailed in the evening of 4 September as part of an investigation being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Arslan was taken into custody on charges of “spreading false information” and “terrorism propaganda.”

The detention was carried out on the instructions of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office over Arslan’s social media posts and remarks on YouTube.

The digital materials were seized during searches carried out at Arslan’s residence.

Journalist Arslan had been targeted on social media by pro-government individuals and accounts over a program on her YouTube channel in which she had hosted journalist Erk Acarer.

Journalist Selahattin Günday detained as part of the Kozinoğlu investigation

Journalist Selahattin Günday was detained on 10 September in Istanbul as part of the reopened investigation into the death of former MIT officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu at Silivri Prison in 2011.

Günday’s lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, reported that the detention took place in the early hours of the morning on the instructions of the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Ersöz stated that Günday was being held at the Gendarmerie Regiment Headquarters and that they had not yet been informed when the questioning would begin.

Following Kozinoğlu’s death, Günday had met with his lawyer, Hüseyin Derin Yarsuvat, and reported on the matter, bringing Yarsuvat’s views to the public’s attention.

Prosecutor’s opinion announced in the case concerning the murder of journalist Hakan Tosun

In the trial of Abdurrahman Murat and Adnan Şahin, accused of “murder” in connection with the beating to death of journalist and video activist Hakan Tosun on the street in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district on 10 October 2025, the prosecutor has presented their final opinion on the case and sought conviction. In the opinion, prepared in line with the charges set out in the indictment, it was stated that there was a causal link between the defendants’ actions and Tosun’s death, and that the defendants’ defenses were aimed at evading criminal liability.

The final hearing was held at the Bakırköy 17th High Criminal Court on 8 July 2026. At that hearing, the presiding judge announced that, should the prosecutor’s final opinion be prepared between sittings, the verdict regarding the defendants would be delivered at the hearing scheduled for 22 September.

Recalling that Hakan Tosun had sustained injuries to his head—a vital area—as well as the nature of the injuries, the targeted area of his body, the number of blows, and the fact that death resulted from the injuries, the prosecutor noted that there was a cause-and-effect relationship between the defendants’ actions and the death.

Click here to read the details of the article.

Timur Soykan acquitted

The fourth hearing in the case against journalist Timur Soykan on charges of “spreading false information” and “incitement to commit a crime” was held at the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 11 September 2026.

Soykan was not present at the hearing, but his lawyer, Enes Hikmet Ermaner, was in attendance.

The prosecutor reiterated their final opinion they had presented at the second hearing on 16 June 2026 and requested that Soykan be convicted of the impugned crimes.

Lawyer Ermaner, stating that he was repeating his previous defenses, requested his client’s acquittal.

The court ruled that Soykan be acquitted on both charges.

Click here to read the details of the article.

Ali Çağatay released at the end of first hearing

Journalist Ali Çağatay has been released in the case in which he had been detained for approximately three months following a social media post relating to the abduction of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) executive Erhan Karaal.

The first hearing in the case against Çağatay, who faces charges of “spreading false information” and “insulting the institutions and organs of the state,” was held at the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance on 10 September 2026.

Çağatay was present in the courtroom. The hearing was also attended by Uğur Güç, Deputy General Secretary, on behalf of the Executive Board of the Turkish Journalists’ Association.

In his defense, Çağatay stated that he had not used any language in his post that would “cause a great deal of outrage.” The prosecution sought a sentence for the impugned crimes and requested that his detention be continued.

Taking into account the time Çağatay had already spent in custody, the court decided to release him.

The case was adjourned until 1 October 2026.

Mehmet Şahin’s retrial has been adjourned until November

The eighth hearing in the retrial of journalist Mehmet Şahin on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” in connection with meetings and press conferences he attended, interviews he conducted with news sources and television programs he produced, was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on 8 September 2026.

Şahin and his lawyer, Resul Temur, were present at the hearing.

Şahin and Temur requested time to prepare a defense against the prosecution’s final opinion submitted at the previous hearing, which had sought a sentence. 

The court granted the request and adjourned the case until 24 November 2026.

Journalist Mehmet Murat Yıldırım’s case adjourned

The first hearing in the case against Mehmet Murat Yıldırım, editor of Siyasi Haber, who is on trial for “insulting the president” over his news reports and social media posts, was held at the 24th Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance on 8 September 2026.

No one attended the hearing, which was monitored by P24. The hearing, conducted on the basis of the case file, was adjourned until 2 January 2027.

In a statement to Expression Interrupted regarding the case, Yıldırım said, “As a journalist living in exile, I continue to face such trials being conducted against me in Turkey. The case brought against me on the charge of ‘insulting the president’ was heard in my absence.” 

Click here to read the details of the article.

At least 20 journalists and media workers in prison

Following the imprisonment of Oya Lale Özan Arslan and release of Ali Çağatay, as of 11 September 2026, there are at least 20 journalists and media workers in prison in Turkey, either imprisoned pending trial or serving a sentence.

The full list can be accessed here.