Well-known Turkish journalist Fatih Altaylı, who has been in pretrial detention since June 22, has been indicted on charges of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a crime that carries a minimum prison sentence of five years under Turkish law, Turkish Minute reported.
The charges stem from remarks made by Altaylı during a broadcast on his YouTube channel on June 20. While discussing a poll showing that about 70 percent of Turks oppose Erdoğan becoming a president for life, Altaylı said that several unpopular Ottoman sultans ended up “assassinated” or “strangled.”
Prosecutors launched an investigation into him and requested that he be held in pretrial detention, arguing that his remarks constituted a threat against the president.
After 26 days in custody, prosecutors submitted an indictment to a high criminal court in İstanbul. The indictment claims that Altaylı violated Article 106/1 and Article 310/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which addresses threats made against the president.
Remarks interpreted as threat
According to the indictment, Altaylı’s references based in history and claims that those with dreams of establishing a dictatorship might find their ambitions collapsing just when they believe they’ve succeeded amounted to a threat against President Erdoğan’s life, veiled in historical analogy. They claim the journalist’s words suggested a violent end for authoritarian leaders, thus constituting a punishable offense under laws protecting the president.
At a hearing prior to his arrest, Altaylı denied the accusation and said he was citing historical facts and did not intend to threaten or insult Erdoğan.
The journalist has more than 2.8 million followers on X and 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube, where he used to host a daily show.
Erdoğan, who has been governing Turkey for more than two decades, is accused by his critics of establishing a one-man rule, cracking down on his critics, silencing the free media and eroding the independence of the judiciary.
Turkey has been witnessing a crackdown on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for about a year, which has so far led to the arrest of 17 of its mayors and dozens of officials.
The arrestees include İstanbul’s popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is his party’s presidential candidate for the next election and the most powerful political rival of Erdoğan.
Erdoğan is accused of attempting to sideline his main rival by targeting the CHP on politically motivated accusations such as corruption.
Erdoğan, who served as prime minister from 2003 to 2014 before becoming president, is barred from running for another term when his mandate ends in 2028.
But the 71-year-old leader could seek to stay in power by calling early elections or amending the constitution.
The arrest of journalists due to their professional activities is frequent in Turkey, which has been suffering from a poor press freedom record for years.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, in between Pakistan and Venezuela.
