DMM statement on Fatih Altaylı! 'The meaning he intended is clear'

The Presidential Communications Directorate's Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM) issued a statement regarding the arrest of journalist Fatih Altaylı, stating, "Claims that Altaylı did not intend to refer to our President and was merely recounting a historical anecdote are manipulation."

The statement from the DMM noted that a campaign is being conducted to manipulate public opinion regarding the judicial process of Fatih Altaylı, who was detained and arrested on allegations of threatening the President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The statement emphasized that under Article 106 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), threats constitute a crime, and presenting the crime of threatening as "freedom of expression" is a form of manipulation, stressing that in a state of law, the principle of the rule of law binds everyone against situations that constitute a crime.

Recalling that Altaylı was asked a question on his YouTube channel regarding "whether the public is asked if President Erdoğan should remain president for life, and that 70 percent oppose this," the statement included the following assessments:

"He used the following expressions that constitute a crime: '...look not at the recent past, but at the distant past; this nation is a nation that has strangled its sultans. It is no small matter, the Ottoman sultans who were killed, who fell victim to assassination... Let us not call it assassination, but rather those who fell victim to a conspiracy, or were strangled, or were made to look like they committed suicide.' It is clearly evident that Altaylı's expressions were uttered in response to a question directed at him regarding our President and what they mean. Despite this, claims that Altaylı did not intend to refer to our President and was merely recounting a historical anecdote are manipulation."

Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'a yönelik tehdit iddiası ile gözaltına alınarak tutuklanan Fatih Altaylı'nın yargılanma süreciyle ilgili kamuoyunu manipüle etmeye yönelik bir kampanya yürütülmektedir.

Türk Ceza Kanunun 106. maddesine göre "tehdit”, bir suçtur.… pic.twitter.com/aeuuOz5kZW

— Dezenformasyonla Mücadele Merkezi (@dmmiletisim) June 22, 2025

The statement, which conveyed that the detention and arrest process of Altaylı was conducted within a legal framework in accordance with the relevant articles of the Criminal Procedure Code, reported that allegations of procedural irregularities on this matter are entirely a product of disinformation.

Emphasizing that investigative authorities referred Altaylı for arrest with the conviction that his statements constituted the crime of threatening as specified in Article 106/1 of the TCK, in conjunction with Article 310/2 of the TCK, the statement noted the following:

"The Criminal Court of Peace, meanwhile, decided to arrest the suspect with the opinion that 'considering the suspect's statement and expressions, the text of the law, and its justifications, the existence of the crime of threatening is established and falls within the scope of physical attack, that the suspect has confessed to his words and this is supported by physical evidence, and that when evaluated together with the lower and upper limits of the sentence, the suspicion of flight is high.' In our country, judicial processes are carried out by independent courts. Judicial authorities conduct processes regarding suspects or witnesses within a legal framework in cases of suspected crime. Respectfully announced to the public."

News Source: AA