On Friday (October 3), a court in Istanbul ruled that the imprisonment of journalist Fatih Altaylı continue amidst an ongoing court case alleging that Altaylı threatened President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a June broadcast.
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| Detention of prominent journalist Fatih Altaylı extended Detention of prominent journalist Fatih Altaylı extended |
Altaylı, one of Turkey’s most prominent independent journalists, was detained in late June shortly after the release of the broadcast in question. For over 3 months, has been held at Istanbul’s Silivri Prison on the city’s European side.
The decision to extend Altaylı’s detention came at a hearing Friday in which many expected the veteran journalist to be released on judicial control.
During Friday’s hearing at a courtroom at Silivri Prison, Altalylı issued a lengthy defense, saying he was surprised by the accusations of having threatened the president and that he was worried for the state of freedom of expression, freedom of the media, and democracy in Turkey.
The next hearing in Altaylı’s case will take place on November 26th.
Alleged threat towards President Erdoğan
In the June broadcast on YouTube, Altaylı was commenting on a recently-released poll showing some 70% of the Turkish public was opposed to the prospect of Erdoğan staying in office for life. In response to the poll, Altaylı said:
“Outside of the AKP [Erdoğan’s Justice & Development Party] and MHP [Nationalist Action Party] bases, no one would consent to the idea of him remaining in office for life. If we look at both the history of this nation, this is a nation that strangled their own sultan when they were dissatisfied with his performance. Numerous sultans exited office by being assassinated, having their throats cut, or committing suicide.”
Following his arrest, Altaylı said: “It never even crossed by mind that these historical references could be interpreted as threats against the president.”
Altay announces break in YouTube broadcasts
Following the decision to extend his detention at Silivri Prison, Altay announced that his YouTube channel would be taking a break from broadcasting, as he and his team deal with the longer-term effects of his continued imprisonment.
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Despite Altaylı’s three-plus month detention, his YouTube channel had continued broadcasting content, consisting of letters written from prison, as well as occasional guests taking over hosting duties in Altay’s absence.
On Monday (October 6), however, Altaylı announced he and his team would stop releasing new videos, citing complications related to his ongoing imprisonment as the reason:
“I am surprised [at the decision to continue his detention]. This has required me to make a change in plans.”
Altaylı elaborated saying that a medical operation related to his heart stent originally scheduled for September had been delayed due to his imprisonment, and that he would now have to have the operation done from prison.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
