Turkish prosecutors have indicted journalist İsmail Arı for his online commentary and social media posts involving family members of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well as alleged irregularities in state bodies and the judiciary, the BirGün daily reported.
Prosecutors accused Arı of publicly disseminating misleading information and violating confidentiality, seeking more than eight years in prison.
The indictment claims that remarks Arı made during a television program alleging the involvement of Erdoğan family members in the management of 20 foundations and transfer of public funds to those organizations constituted disinformation.
It also cited Arı’s social media posts on alleged irregularities at the state-run Yunus Emre Institute, the construction of a dormitory on a cultural heritage site near the imam hatip religious school from which President Erdoğan graduated and judicial appointments.
The Ankara 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment, and the first hearing is scheduled for June 5.
Arı was arrested on March 22, sparking widespread criticism and protests from journalists, press organizations and opposition politicians. He has remained in pretrial detention since then.
Arı was also indicted as part of a separate investigation after his report on alleged corruption at the Yunus Emre Institute on charges of creating the perception of involvement in corruption, following a complaint by former deputy chairman of the institute Rahmi Göktaş, the husband of Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Göktaş.
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 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 163rd out of 180 nations.
