Statement from Minister Tunç regarding Altaylı's arrest! 'Behind the veil of journalism...'

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç made a statement on his social media account regarding the arrest of journalist Fatih Altaylı.

Bir sosyal medya yayınında “ömür boyu başkanlık” şeklindeki, tamamen uydurulan asılsız bir iddia üzerinden Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımıza “diktatör” iftirasında bulunulması; tarihî gerçeklikten uzak, yalan ve yanlış örneklerle hakaret ve şiddet çağrısı içeren bir kara propaganda…

— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) June 22, 2025

Tunç wrote the following: 

"It is absolutely unacceptable to slander our President as a 'dictator' based on a completely fabricated and baseless claim of 'lifetime presidency' in a social media broadcast; it is black propaganda containing insults and calls for violence with false and incorrect examples that are far from historical reality.

Insults and threats cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of thought and expression in any democratic legal order. Freedom of expression cannot be an excuse for attacks targeting personal rights, public order, the values of our nation, and the constitutional institutions of the state.

As a requirement of the Rule of Law principle, no one has the right to make statements containing insults and threats with ugly and inappropriate expressions such as dictatorship directed at our President. Threats and insults cannot be legitimized by hiding behind the veil of journalism.

The prosecutor's office conducting the investigation is performing its duty with the authority it receives from the Constitution and the laws, without distinguishing between individuals or titles. No authority or person can give instructions to the judiciary.

It should not be forgotten that in democratic societies, the line between criticism and crime is clear. When this line drawn by the law is crossed, one should not be disturbed by the activation of the necessary judicial mechanisms."