A Turkish court on Tuesday put journalist Can Bursalı under judicial supervision, including a ban on international travel, after prosecutors questioned him over news reports and social media posts, the Medyascope news website reported.
Bursalı, a reporter for the Gazete Pencere news website, appeared at the İstanbul Courthouse after being summoned as part of an investigation launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors questioned Bursalı on allegations of slander, insult and denigrating the Turkish government and judiciary in news reports and posts he published on X about the trial of jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the 2022 Amasra mine explosion, which claimed the lives of 42 workers.
Bursalı denied the allegations, saying the reports and posts constituted journalistic activity.
After giving a statement to prosecutors, Bursalı was referred to a criminal magistrate of peace who ordered his release under judicial supervision.
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested in March 2025 on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated and intended to sideline him ahead of the 2028 presidential election. The investigations into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality are viewed by critics as part of growing pressure on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 20 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was also highlighted in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which ranked Turkey 163rd out of 180 nations.
