Turkey targets press freedom in trial of DW's Alican Uludag

"Alicon Uludag, accused of publicly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spreading misleading information and disparaging state institutions in a total of 22 social media posts, will appear in court for the first time on Thursday. Uludag was arrested at his apartment in Ankara on February 19 and transferred to Istanbul, where he was placed in pre-trial detention. Although he is being held in Istanbul, his trial is taking place in Ankara. Despite his specific request to present his defense in person, Uludag is only allowed to participate in the proceedings via video conference."

"DW Director-General Barbara Massing dismissed the allegations against him as baseless. She called his arrest a "targeted attempt at intimidation," and said his case demonstrated "the extent to which the government is massively repressing press freedom." Massing emphasized that Uludag has an excellent network and access to key sources. From the government's perspective, she said, this is precisely what could make him an inconvenient and potentially dangerous voice."

"Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative for press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Uludag was being "arbitrarily targeted by a judiciary beholden to those in power." He added that Uludag, who he described as a "serious journalist known for his investigations into matters of public interest," may have angered those in power with his investigations. Uludag himself considers his arrest a deliberate attempt to keep him from continuing his work."

A journalist accused of publicly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spreading misleading information, and disparaging state institutions in 22 social media posts will appear in court for the first time. He was arrested at his apartment in Ankara on February 19 and transferred to Istanbul, where he was placed in pre-trial detention. Although he is held in Istanbul, the trial is taking place in Ankara. He requested to present his defense in person but is only allowed to participate via video conference. DW dismisses the allegations as baseless and calls the arrest a targeted attempt at intimidation. Reporters Without Borders says he is arbitrarily targeted by a judiciary beholden to those in power, and he believes the arrest aims to stop his reporting.

Read at www.dw.com