Testimony of journalist Alican Uludağ, arrested for insulting the President, revealed

Journalist Alican Uludağ, who was detained in Ankara last night, was transferred to Istanbul. Following his interrogation by the judge at the Çağlayan Courthouse, Uludağ was arrested on charges of "publicly insulting the President." The court issued the arrest warrant on the grounds that Uludağ's posts "reached an undetermined number of people" and that the "crime was committed publicly."

"I WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR JOURNALISM"

In his testimony to the court following the arrest decision, Alican Uludağ emphasized that his posts were criticisms and denied the accusations. Uludağ stated that he has been a journalist for 18 years and that he is prepared to pay the price for journalism, even if it means leaving his children behind. He also noted that there had been no complaints from the President or his lawyers to date. Uludağ said, "Why was I suddenly brought here from Ankara today? Action was taken against these posts because I was doing my job within the boundaries of journalism."

DEFENDED HIS CRITICISMS LOUDLY

Uludağ argued that the sole reason for his arrest was his criticisms, and that these posts were part of his journalistic work. Uludağ continued his words as follows:

“If I am practicing journalism, I must express this through my criticisms. To date, there has been no complaint from the President or his lawyers. Why am I arrested now? Because I am doing journalism.”

Alican Uludağ, stating that he defends freedom of thought as a journalist, said, "If we cannot criticize the President, why does journalism exist?" He also expressed his trust in the state's legal system and the Constitution.

The court decided that Uludağ's posts were committed publicly and that, therefore, there was a suspicion of flight and tampering with evidence. The arrest warrant also stated that there was a suspicion of "pressuring witnesses and other individuals."

"THEY KNOW THE POSTS ON THE AGENDA DO NOT CONSTITUTE A CRIME"

During his court interrogation, Uludağ stated that the days he made the posts were in the past and that no action had been taken regarding these posts before, adding, "These posts do not contain any criminal elements. According to the prosecutor's allegations, there is no insult in any of the posts; they are entirely criticism." Uludağ reiterated that he did not commit any crime while carrying out his journalistic work.

"STAND TALL, I WILL NOT BE SILENCED"

Following the arrest decision, Alican Uludağ sent a message to his colleagues outside through his lawyers. Uludağ said, "Stand tall! Alican Uludağ has not been silenced, and he will not be silenced. We do not accept this arrest."

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation into Alican Uludağ's social media posts on charges of "publicly insulting the President," "publicly disseminating misleading information to the public," and "insulting state institutions." The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and new developments regarding Uludağ's situation are expected.