Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay was convicted Tuesday and sentenced to more than four years in prison but was released due to time served at his first hearing after spending 201 days in pretrial detention on multiple charges, Turkish Minute reported, citing the independent journalism organization Platform 24 (P24).
Karabay, 29, was arrested on May 15 and sent to pretrial detention at Marmara Prison in İstanbul on accusations of insulting the president, repeatedly targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism efforts and insulting a public official in his journalistic activities.
He appeared at the İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court on Tuesday in the first hearing of his trial. Representatives of journalists’ unions, the İstanbul Bar Association, opposition politicians and several journalists attended the hearing.
The hearing was marked by Karabay’s defiant tone as he refused to make a defense statement due to the nature of the charges directed against him.
Taking the stand, Karabay tore up a copy of the indictment and said, “I will not defend myself against this indictment. I can only tear it up. I refuse to offer a defense.”
He claimed that the indictment was drafted as if someone were filling out a betting slip, calling the charges against him baseless and politically motivated.
Karabay was arrested due to comments he made on a YouTube program and posts on social media. Prosecutors later submitted an indictment seeking six to 15 years in prison.
Tensions rose in the courtroom when the judge interrupted Karabay, saying he was not making a proper defense. Karabay and his lawyers objected, arguing that the court could not dictate the style or content of his statement.
The judge paused the hearing to allow the prosecutor to finalize his opinion.
In that opinion the prosecutor sought Karabay’s conviction on charges of insulting the president, three counts of targeting individuals involved in counterterrorism and one count of insulting a public official. The prosecutor also requested that Karabay remain in pretrial detention.
Karabay refused to respond to the prosecution’s final opinion, repeating that he rejected the charges entirely.
The court sentenced him to four years, three months in prison but ordered his release due to time served in pretrial detention.
Karabay’s lawyer, Enes Hikmet Ermaner, told the Anka news agency that the ruling brought “bittersweet relief,” saying his client should never have received a prison sentence.
“This is a bittersweet moment because Furkan received a punishment he didn’t deserve,” Ermaner said.
“He was sentenced to four years and three months even though he did nothing more than engage in journalism. He reported based on documents and information he had, and he published it as part of his professional work. The fact that he was even put on trial was absurd, yet he was convicted. The court then issued a release order as if it were some kind of reward,” Ermaner added.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, senior prosecutors including İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek and a judge are listed as complainants in the trial.
Karabay is 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, which led to mass anti-government protests unseen in the country since 2013.
Critics say Erdoğan wants to sideline İmamoğlu, his strongest political rival, in the next presidential race by ensuring his arrest on politically motivated charges.
Karabay, who faces multiple investigations and prosecutions due to his work as a journalist, had previously been arrested in November 2024 for reporting on the detention of Esenyurt Mayor Özer and the appointment of a trustee to the municipality. He was released 10 days later.
In April Karabay received a two-year suspended sentence over remarks in a YouTube interview about claims of offshore accounts allegedly owned by Erdoğan’s family, allegations first raised by then-opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in 2017.
In Turkey insulting the president is a criminal offense under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. The law has been widely criticized by press freedom advocates because it is often used to prosecute journalists, politicians and even ordinary citizens for expressing views that might be critical or satirical of the president, even indirectly.
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.
