A Turkish court on Thursday acquitted journalist Furkan Karabay of spreading disinformation and targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism efforts but convicted him of insulting a top prosecutor, Turkish Minute reported.
He will remain in prison because of an arrest decision in another case.
Karabay, 29, who has been in pretrial detention at Marmara Prison in İstanbul since May 15, appeared before the İstanbul 22nd High Criminal Court on Thursday.
The charges against the journalist stemmed from his reporting and social media posts about former Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who was arrested and removed from office in October 2024 on terrorism-related charges.
Karabay was facing six to 15 years in prison on charges of “insulting the president,” “repeatedly targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism efforts” and “insulting a public official.”
The court sentenced him to a fine of 42,500 lira (about $1,021) for “insulting a public official” in relation to İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, a controversial official who is behind an ongoing crackdown on the CHP which began with the arrest of Özer and has led to the detention or arrest of around 500 party officials including more than 10 mayors so far.
The court suspended its verdict, meaning that the conviction will not take effect if the journalist avoids further offenses for a set period.
Karabay was acquitted of the other charges he faced in this trial.
Karabay’s lawyer said he was being punished for doing his job as a journalist. “Our client was first deprived of his profession and then of his freedom,” lawyer Harun Karabay told the court, noting he was held for four months without an indictment.
Despite the acquittals, the journalist will remain in jail pending other proceedings.
Karabay is a reporter known for his critical coverage of investigations targeting municipalities in İstanbul run by the CHP and the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March, which led to mass anti-government protests unseen in the country since 2013.
Critics say Erdoğan wants to sideline İmamoğlu, his strongest political rival, in the next presidential race by ensuring his arrest on politically motivated charges.
Karabay, who faces multiple investigations and prosecutions due to his work as a journalist, had previously been arrested in November 2024 for reporting on the detention of Esenyurt Mayor Özer and the appointment of a trustee to the municipality. He was released 10 days later.
In April Karabay received a two-year suspended sentence over remarks in a YouTube interview about claims of offshore accounts allegedly owned by Erdoğan’s family, allegations first raised by then-opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in 2017.
In Turkey insulting the president is a criminal offense under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. The law has been widely criticized by press freedom advocates because it is often used to prosecute journalists, politicians and even ordinary citizens for expressing views that might be critical or satirical of the president, even indirectly.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
Turkish authorities frequently use broad counterterrorism laws and insult charges to prosecute members of the press
