Semra Pelek
Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay was released from pretrial detention on Monday after serving 201 days in Istanbul’s Silivri Prison. The court sentenced him to a total of 4 years and 3 months in prison on charges of “insulting the president,” “insulting a public official,” and “targeting individuals involved in counterterrorism.” However, taking into account the time he had already spent in custody, the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court ordered his release. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office quickly appealed the decision, requesting his re-arrest on the grounds of “strong suspicion of a crime.”
Karabay, a reporter known for his critical journalism, was arrested on May 15 and has remained in detention since then. The first hearing in his case was held on Monday at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court. The charges stem primarily from Karabay’s social media posts, including a post in which he used a publicly available photograph of Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
During his defense statement, Karabay criticized the broader judicial system in Turkey. He referred to cases involving journalist Ercüment Akdeniz, commentator Fatih Altaylı, and an indictment against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as examples of what he described as systemic legal injustices. The presiding judge interrupted him, saying, “These have nothing to do with your case.”
Karabay requested the indictment be read aloud in court. The judge denied the request, saying, “There is no such procedure; I’m not obligated to read it.” In response, Karabay declared during the SEGBİS (video-conference) recorded session, “I protest all unlawful judicial decisions in Turkey. I will not defend myself against this indictment, which was prepared like a betting slip. I will tear it up.” He then physically tore up the indictment and ended his statement.
The court accepted the applications of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek to be involved in the trial as co-plaintiffs.
Defense attorneys criticized the indictment and the handling of the case. Lawyer Enes Hikmet Ermaner pointed out that the indictment was delayed and that the case file had remained inactive for 60 days due to the prosecutor's vacation. He also criticized the timing of Karabay’s arrest, which took place on his birthday. “You arrested a journalist—someone you’ve detained twice and prosecuted dozens of times—on the night of his birthday. I won’t call this bad faith, but it’s a terrible coincidence. You’ve insulted my client’s dignity,” he said.
Ermaner also highlighted that the photo Karabay used of Gürlek was publicly accessible via a Google search. He presented a recent interview Gürlek gave to the pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak as further evidence. “Is Furkan Karabay on trial just because he doesn’t work for Yeni Şafak?” he asked, emphasizing the need for equal justice.
Another defense attorney, Özden Azakkaya, argued that the prosecutors named in Karabay’s posts had not been directly involved in counterterrorism operations, undermining the legal basis for the charge of “targeting individuals involved in counterterrorism.”
Harun Karabay, also representing the journalist, said, “There has been no trial for 201 days. This is not a legal process; it’s punishment.”
In its ruling, the court sentenced Karabay to 1 year and 9 months for “insulting the president,” and two additional sentences of 1 year and 3 months each for “insulting a public official” and “targeting” Gürlek. He was acquitted of similar charges involving prosecutors Can Tuncay and Ahmet Şahin. Due to time already served, the court ruled for his release.
However, later the same day, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed the release, citing the seriousness of the charges and what it called “strong suspicion of a crime.” The appeal was forwarded to the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court for review.
