Zihni Çakır, a journalist known for his pro-government stance, was arrested on Saturday following a social media post in which he criticized Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, the T24 news website reported.
In his post Çakır questioned Tunç’s December 17 meeting with Sadettin Saran, chairman of the Fenerbahçe Sports Club, whose home was searched only two days later as part of a drug-related investigation. Çakır raised doubts about how the public might perceive the search, reportedly yielding no findings, and whether Saran’s subsequent trip abroad for a team match shortly after the meeting would be seen as a convincing explanation.
Çakır also wrote that officials should exercise “utmost care to preserve the dignity of their offices” an implicit criticism of the minister.
Following the December 19 search, Saran returned to Turkey and was questioned by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. He was then referred to the Council of Forensic Medicine for drug testing and released under a travel ban.
Turkey has seen a sharp decline in press freedom over the past decade, with journalism frequently targeted through legal pressure, arrests and media takeovers.
Journalists critical of the government or allied political parties have faced increasing scrutiny under laws criminalizing “disinformation,” “insulting public officials” and “terrorist propaganda.” Dozens of reporters remain in prison, and many more are the subjects of ongoing investigations.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 27 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.
In this environment, even local reporting on politically sensitive figures can trigger legal consequences, contributing to a climate of widespread self-censorship in the Turkish media.
