DW correspondent Alican Uludag released, ordered not to leave Turkey
Alican Uludag was freed Wednesday, a day after being taken back into custody on new charges. The arrest had come just two months after he
Alican Uludag was freed Wednesday, a day after being taken back into custody on new charges. The arrest had come just two months after he was released pending trial in a separate case. Deutsche Welle correspondent Alican Uludag was released Wednesday under judicial supervision after spending approximately 25 hours in police custody. He was taken into custody Tuesday on suspicion of inciting hatred and hostility and publicly spreading misleading information the Turkish prosecutor's office said. At the time of his latest detention, Uludag was already on conditional release after being detained in February on charges including insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Germany criticizes renewed detention Before his release Wednesday, a German government spokesperson said Berlin was "highly irritated" by Uludag's renewed detention. According to Reuters news agency, the spokesperson said Turkish authorities were acting in violation of press freedom, which Turkey had committed itself to upholding by joining the Council of Europe and signing the European Convention on Human Rights. Following Tuesday's arrest, DW Director General Barbara Massing described his re-arrest as "deeply concerning" and added, "we expect his rights to be fully respected and demand a fair trial in accordance with the rule of law." Journalists protest outside courthouse Uludag's latest detention drew criticism from Turkish press organizations, which gathered outside the Ankara courthouse before the proceedings Wednesday.
A small group of demonstrators carried signs and chanted, "Journalism is not a crime," while calling for his immediate release. Some members of Turkish press organizations gathered outside the Ankara courthouse to criticise the case against Uludag Image: ANKA Uludag was released, but the court warned him not to leave the country and ordered him to report to police four times a week. Sinan Tartanoglu, head of the Ankara branch of the Turkish Journalists' Union, said the case reflected broader pressure on reporters in Turkey. "There are many journalists in prison and many under investigation," Tartanoglu was quoted by DW's Turkish Service as saying.
"We want to be able to report the news, publish our social media posts and express our criticism freely." Uludag has repeatedly denied the charges against him.
The BriefWire