Turkish prosecutors are seeking up to four-and-a-half years in prison for jailed journalist Fatih Ergin over a social media post that misstated a deceased doctor’s professional background, an error he corrected about 90 minutes later, the BirGün daily reported.
The indictment charges Ergin, news coordinator for the Nefes daily, of publicly disseminating misleading information under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code. Prosecutors submitted it to the Silivri Criminal Court of First Instance for approval.
In a September 27 post on X, Ergin reported that Turgay Tamer had been found dead at his home, incorrectly stating that the doctor had previously worked in forensic medicine. Tamer had previously been detained and released as part of a reopened investigation into the 2011 death in prison of former Turkish intelligence officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu.
In a follow-up post, Ergin clarified that Tamer had worked as a doctor at the prison campus where Kozinoğlu was held, rather than in forensic medicine.
The indictment cited a letter from the Silivri District Health Directorate confirming that Tamer had not worked as a doctor in forensic medicine. Prosecutors said Ergin’s post could reach a large audience because he is a journalist and undermine public confidence in the investigation into Kozinoğlu’s death.
The indictment also cited another social media user’s repost of Ergin’s message with the comment, “The executions have begun,” as evidence that Ergin’s post could disturb public peace.
Introduced in 2022 Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code, commonly known as the disinformation law, provides for prison sentences of one to three years for publicly spreading misleading information about national security, public order or public health with the intent to cause fear or panic among the public. A separate provision allows sentences to be increased by up to half if the offense is committed through the media.
Ergin was jailed pending trial on September 28. In a later interview with the Cumhuriyet daily, he said numerous media outlets had published the same information but that he alone had been jailed. He also objected to being held responsible for another user’s reaction to his post.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for Ergin’s release after he was jailed, saying Turkish authorities were increasingly using the disinformation law to target journalists.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 25 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.
