A Turkish court on Saturday ordered the arrest of local journalist Mehmet Yetim on charges of publicly disseminating misleading information in a social media post about a knife attack at a school in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, even though he later deleted the post and shared a correction.
Yetim, the editor-in-chief of the local Kulis TV, was detained in a dawn raid on his home and later jailed pending trial, with the court saying judicial supervision measures would be insufficient, according to the Bianet news website.
The charges stem from a post he shared on an April 17 incident at Dumlupınar Middle School, where an assailant entered the school with a knife. The incident came days after a school shooting in Şanlıurfa on April 14 by a 19-year-old former student that left 16 people injured and in which the attacker later died by suicide, and another attack the following day at a school in Kahramanmaraş by a 14-year-old student that killed nine.
In his initial post, Yetim said a parent had attacked a teacher with a knife and that a deputy principal had been injured. The post spread quickly on social media.
After further details emerged, Yetim removed the post and shared a statement from the governor’s office, saying the assailant had been neutralized and that no one was injured.
In his statement to prosecutors, Yetim said he had shared information circulating online, removed the post once clearer details emerged and issued a correction, adding that he had no intention of misleading the public.
The arrest drew criticism from opposition politicians and journalist associations.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Şanlıurfa lawmaker Mahmut Tanal described the arrest as “an attempt to intimidate the press,” while İYİ (Good) Party Deputy Chair and former Şanlıurfa mayor Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba said it raised concerns about press freedom.
Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Dilan Kunt Ayan called the arrest “unacceptable,” while fellow party lawmaker Ferit Şenyaşar said jailing a journalist over a report made without intent “has wounded the public conscience.”
Media Writers Association President Mustafa Pakır, Göbeklitepe Journalists and Writers Association President Reşit Öncel and Anatolian Press Union President Mehmet Bora Zor said the arrest amounted to interference in press freedom.
Yetim had previously been briefly detained for sharing a video showing an elderly man sexually harassing a 2-year-old girl, in violation of a reporting ban.
Turkey has long faced criticism from international organizations over press freedom. 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 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.
