Breaking News... Alican Uludağ released

An important development occurred today in the case of journalist Alican Uludağ, who was arrested and sent to Silivri Prison due to his social media posts. In the first hearing held at the Ankara 57th Criminal Court of First Instance, it was decided that Uludağ should be released. Uludağ, who had been detained for approximately 90 days, made his defense via the SEGBİS system.

In the case where Uludağ faces up to 19 years and 6 months in prison on charges of "publicly insulting the President," "publicly disseminating misleading information to the public," and "publicly degrading judicial bodies," the prosecutor requested the continuation of his detention, but the court ruled for his release.

Uludağ, who was held at Silivri Prison, could not attend the hearing in person. Connecting to the court via SEGBİS, the journalist said in his defense: "We are in a period where the difference between being outside and being inside has become blurred. A climate of fear has descended upon Turkey like a fog. People are afraid to speak, to write, to think. The judiciary and the state apparatus are being used as a guillotine against the opposition. The democratic and constitutional order is under threat. We will either be a democracy or, as the US Ambassador to Ankara said, we will be a monarchical structure. If journalists remain silent today, society will also remain silent. Long live the democratic and secular Turkish Republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Long live journalism."

At the beginning of his speech regarding the trial, he stated: "I have been in exile in Silivri for exactly 90 days, away from my family in Ankara and away from journalism. Just as I was arrested in Çağlayan while hidden from everyone, today I am being tried while hidden away from everyone. My file was not prepared by a press prosecutor, but by a terror prosecutor. Am I a terrorist?"

His relatives and colleagues, who were present at the courthouse, came to the Ankara Courthouse to support Uludağ. Despite the prosecutor's request for the continuation of detention, the court ruled for Uludağ's release.

The file in which Uludağ is being tried was submitted to the Istanbul 26th Criminal Court of First Instance on April 1 with an indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Terror Crimes Bureau. However, the court decided to send the file to Ankara on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. After the file reached the Ankara 57th Criminal Court of First Instance, lawyers had requested his release through an interim decision (without a hearing), but these requests had been rejected.

The release decision taken at today's hearing was welcomed by journalist organizations and Uludağ's relatives, while it was reported that the trial on the merits of the case will continue in the coming days.

News Source: 12punto