The first hearing was held in the trial of journalist Alican Uludağ, who faces charges over sharing an expert report on social media concerning a building collapse that killed four people in Gebze, a district in northwestern Turkey’s Kocaeli province.
Büşra Genel
The first hearing in the trial of journalist Alican Uludağ, charged with “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code over a social media post containing an expert report on a building collapse that killed four people in northwestern Turkey, was held at the Ankara 59th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The charges stem from Uludağ’s social media post about an expert report on the collapse of an apartment building on Oct. 29, 2025, in Gebze, a district of Kocaeli province.
The hearing began two hours late and was attended by Uludağ’s fellow journalists, as well as New Party Deputy Chair for Press Affairs Utku Çakırözer and the party’s Kocaeli lawmaker Nail Çiler, who came to show their support.
The presiding judge asked Uludağ whether he wished to add anything to his previous defense statement.
In his additional defense statement, Uludağ outlined details of the expert report on the collapsed building in Gebze that he had shared on social media.
Uludağ said the report established that the building had collapsed because of negligence related to the construction of a metro station. He said he had reported on the findings in his capacity as a journalist to inform the public.
Uludağ submitted the report to the court, maintaining that he had shared it on social media in the public interest.
He also requested that Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who was named in the indictment, be called to testify as a witness about the report and the alleged negligence. Uludağ further asked the court to include in the case file the investigation launched by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office following the collapse.
After the prosecutor requested additional time to prepare the prosecution’s opinion, the court adjourned the trial until March 25 at 10:15 a.m.
About the case
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against journalist Alican Uludağ for “publicly disseminating misleading information” over social media posts about an expert report indicating that the collapse of an apartment building that killed four people in Gebze, a district in northwestern Turkey’s Kocaeli province, was linked to metro station construction.
In a Nov. 3, 2025, post on X about the deadly building collapse, Uludağ wrote that metro construction beneath the building had contributed to its collapse and that the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry bore responsibility.
After taking Uludağ’s statement, the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ruled that it lacked jurisdiction and transferred the case to Ankara.
On Sept. 10, 2026, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against Uludağ on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information.” The indictment cited his Nov. 3, 2025, posts on X concerning the building collapse in Gebze.
