Turkish authorities have arrested Alican Uludağ, a prominent investigative journalist for Deutsche Welle, on charges of “insulting the President” and “disseminating disinformation.” The arrest stems from Uludağ’s post criticizing the release of suspected Islamic State militants, which the government claims created a “false public perception” despite the accuracy of the underlying facts. This case highlights the worsening state of press freedom in Turkey, which currently ranks near the bottom of global indexes, 159th place out of 180.
Date: February 20, 2026. Source: balkaninsight.com