Istanbul, May 23, (dpa/GNA) – A reporter with German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, charged with insulting the president has been released from pre-trial detention in Turkey in line with a court ruling Thursday.
A Turkish court had ordered the release of reporter Alican Uludag from the Silivri prison complex in Istanbul earlier. “We will continue the fight until all detained journalists in Turkey have been released,” Uludag told journalists. “Only when all imprisoned journalists have been released will we be happy. We have not engaged in any journalism of which we need to be ashamed.”
According to the indictment, Uludag is accused of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, spreading misleading information and denigrating Turkey. The charges relate in part to comments made by Uludağ on the social media platform X.
Uludağ, who took part in the hearing via video link, denies the allegations. He has been working as a reporter for Deutsche Welle for several years and was detained in February.
The German government had called for his release. According to the German international broadcaster, his reporting focused on the judicial system, human rights violations and cases of corruption in Turkey.
Turkey ranks 163rd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index.
A large proportion of the media in Turkey is under direct or indirect government control.
GNA