RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
02/20/2026 | Press release | Archived content
In Türkiye, Deutsche Welle journalist Alican Uludag detained following scandalous court ruling
The DWcorrespondent in Ankara, Alican Uludag, is facing several charges related to some of his social media posts on X and an article he co-wrote for the television channel Now TV, which was broadcast on 18 December 2024. The article in question was about the repatriation of Turkish citizens affiliated with the militant group the Islamic State and the Turkish government's leniency towards them. The article notably criticised the reduced sentences given to those convicted of the attack on Istanbul's Atatürk Airport in June 2016.
Following his arrest on 19 February, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated in a press release that the investigation was based on charges of "public dissemination of misleading information" and "insulting the president." At the end of the judicial investigation, Alican Uludag was charged with a third offence related to "denigrating state institutions." The judge decided to detain him for "insulting the president" on the grounds that the journalist could "flee or exert pressure on witnesses." The journalist could face four years and eight months in prison under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) if this charge alone is upheld in upcoming legal proceedings.
On 30 April 2025, Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, special correspondent for Swedish media outlet Dagens ETC, was also convictedof "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and handed a suspended prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days. He was ultimately released after 51 days behind bars.
"It is undeniable that Alican Uludag, a serious journalist known for his investigations into matters of public interest, has been arbitrarily targeted by a judiciary beholden to those in power, as RSF has already documented. This arrest for 'insulting the president' is clearly a miscarriage of justice. We will continue to fight for Alican Uludag's freedom and denounce this scandalous decision. Unfortunately, the Turkish authorities are continuing their mission to tarnish the country's already grim record on press freedom, with no fewer than 27 journalists imprisoned last year."
Erol Onderoglu
RSF Representative in Turkiye
While the journalist was being questioned by a judge, RSF joined a press briefing organised by the Ankara-based Association of Journalists in front of the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul on Friday 20 February where some 200 journalists called for Alican Uludag's immediate release. Representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC), the Association of Journalists (Ankara), the Journalists Union of Türkiye (TGS), and the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PMD) were also present.
Alican Uludag, a seasoned journalist
Alican Uludag began his journalism career in 2008 at the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet (meaning "Republic"). In 2019, he won the Ugur Mumcu Award from the Progressive Journalists Association (CGD), as well as a prize from the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC) in 2020 and the Raif Badawi Award from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom the following year.
Since March 2021, he has been working for the German media outlet DW, with a break from December 2024 to December 2025, during which he worked for Now TV.
Four journalists are currently detained in Türkiye, including one under house arrest. The country ranks 159 out of 180 countries and territories in the RSF 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
Published on20.02.2026
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