Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay was arrested on Thursday on charges of insulting the president and targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism efforts in his reports and social media posts concerning investigations into opposition mayors, his lawyer said, Turkish Minute reported.
Karabay, a reporter known for his critical coverage of investigations targeting municipalities in İstanbul run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March, was detained at home early Thursday morning, the same day he was celebrating his birthday.
Following questioning at İstanbul’s police headquarters, Karabay was transferred to the İstanbul Courthouse, where prosecutors referred him to a criminal court with a request for his arrest. An İstanbul judge later ordered his arrest on the two charges.
This marks the third time Karabay has appeared before a court as part of similar investigations. Refusing to present a defense during his hearing on Thursday, he told the court: “This is my third time here. I was arrested at both previous hearings. I refuse to defend myself before courts that jail 20-year-olds. I consider it an injustice to even speak in such a place.”
He was referring to the arrest of some 300 mainly young people who were put in pretrial detention for protesting the arrest of İmamoğlu, the strongest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the CHP presidential candidate for the next general election. Most of the protestors were released after spending time in pretrial detention.
Karabay’s lawyer, Enes Ermaner, said on X that the charges were based on Karabay’s reporting involving investigations into CHP municipalities and mayors including İmamoğlu and two other district mayors in İstanbul under arrest — Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer and Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan — and the prosecutors leading these investigations.
Ermaner condemned the investigation as politically motivated and a violation of press freedom.
“The fact that these reports mention publicly known figures, including the İstanbul chief public prosecutor, does not constitute a crime,” Ermaner said in a statement. “This is journalism, and treating it as a criminal act disregards freedom of expression and the press.”
İmamoğlu and the CHP have been facing a crackdown in recent months, which culminated with the arrest of İmamoğlu on March 23. Critics say Erdoğan wants to sideline İmamoğlu in the next presidential race by ensuring his arrest on politically motivated charges.
The CHP and İmamoğlu accuse the İstanbul prosecutors who launched the investigations into them of acting on orders from the government. İmamoğlu is also being investigated due to his remarks targeting the chief public prosecutor in İstanbul on accusations of “targeting public officials involved in the fight against terrorism.”
Karabay had previously been arrested in November for reporting on the detention of Esenyurt Mayor Özer and the appointment of a trustee to the municipality. He was released 10 days later.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
Turkish authorities frequently use broad counterterrorism laws and insult charges to prosecute members of the press.
