A journalist working for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, named Alican Uludag, was arrested in Ankara, Türkiye on 20 February 2026. He is accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and spreading misleading information through social media posts, including criticism of government actions related to IS detainees.
Uludag was taken into custody and later formally arrested by an Istanbul court. The charges he faces can carry several years in prison.
The arrest has sparked widespread concern about press freedom. Deutsche Welle’s leadership condemned it as intimidation, and German authorities have called for his release, emphasizing that journalistic reporting should not be criminalized. This case reflects ongoing challenges for media independence in Türkiye, where both domestic and foreign journalists have faced legal pressures in recent years.