Defense lawyers have filed an objection to the arrest of journalist Alican Uludağ, who was detained on charges of "publicly insulting the President." During his court appearance as part of the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Uludağ stated in his defense, "I am not a common criminal; I have been a journalist for 18 years. If we are to be thrown into prison in this country for criticizing the President, why does it say 'Justice is the Foundation of the State' behind you?"
In the objection submitted by his lawyers to the Istanbul 9th Criminal Court of Peace, it was argued that the decision to continue his detention was unlawful. The application emphasized that Uludağ has a permanent address in Ankara, that the social media posts forming the basis of the accusation date back to 2025, and that he was taken into custody directly without being given the opportunity to provide a statement via summons. The defense underscored that the grounds of flight risk and evidence tampering were not supported by concrete information or findings.
Furthermore, the lawyers stated that the accusations against Uludağ fall within the scope of journalistic activity and freedom of expression, that judicial control measures would have been sufficient, and that the detention measure applied was disproportionate. The application requested that the current arrest warrant be revoked and that the journalist be released immediately.
News Source: 12punto
