BirGün reporter İsmail Arı was arrested on a charge of “publicly disseminating misleading information” in an investigation opened following a complaint by former RTÜK Chair Ebubekir Şahin. Arı was detained on 20 October at the Ankara Police Department, where he had been summoned to give a statement. The next day, after giving his statement to the prosecutor, he was referred to a criminal judgeship of peace with a request for his arrest. The judgeship ordered his arrest, citing the risk of flight and tampering with evidence. Arı criticized the decision, saying the judge had not listened to his defense and had interrupted his lawyers. The journalist had also been held in prison for 75 days between March and June 2026 on the same charge and was released at the first hearing on 5 June without judicial control despite the prosecutor’s request for continued detention. Arı was thus arrested for a second time in the same year.
21 October 2026
BBC News Türkçe