A Turkish prosecutor has opened a second criminal case against jailed journalist Fatih Altaylı, seeking up to three years in prison on charges of “disseminating misleading information” in a YouTube broadcast that authorities claim threatened national security, Turkish Minute reported.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the latest investigation under Article 207 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes the publication of allegedly false information, according to Halk TV columnist İsmail Saymaz. The probe targets a program aired on Altaylı’s YouTube channel on August 5, 2025 — weeks after his arrest in a separate case — in which a letter from the journalist was read aloud and discussed by guests.
The letter included a claim that far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli had once sent a poem to Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Öcalan has been serving a life sentence on İmralı Island since 1999. Prosecutors said the content of the video posed a risk to national security and public order. The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Terrorism Crimes Investigation Bureau asked the court to block access to the channel and the August 5 video.
The İstanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace granted the request and also ordered the removal of the content from YouTube — a measure the prosecutor had not explicitly sought. Altaylı’s lawyers have appealed the decision, and as of August 11, YouTube had yet to implement the order.
Altaylı, a veteran journalist and one of Turkey’s most prominent media figures, was first detained on June 21 after a June 20 broadcast in which he commented on a poll showing that 70 percent of Turks opposed allowing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to remain in power for life. Referencing Ottoman history, he said the public had previously deposed or executed sultans they no longer accepted. Prosecutors accused him of “threatening the president” under Article 299 of the penal code, a charge he denies.
Authorities have also blocked access to Altaylı’s YouTube channel, which has 1.65 million subscribers and is one of the most watched news-related platforms in Turkey. Despite his imprisonment, the channel continued broadcasting, often featuring an empty chair in his place, alongside appearances by opposition politicians and fellow journalists.
The case comes amid Turkey’s deteriorating press freedom climate. Reporters Without Borders ranked the country 159th out of 180 in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, noting that arrests of journalists over their professional activities remain frequent. Rights advocates say the use of charges such as “misleading information” and “threatening the president” has become a routine tool to silence dissenting voices.
