Turkey: DW's Alican Uludag released, but trial continues

A court in Ankara on Thursday opened proceedings against Deutsche Welle reporter Alican Uludag , and released Uludag from detention while the case against him continued. The next court date is scheduled for September 18. Uludag's lawyer Abbas Yalcin welcomed his client's release after months in detention, but also argued that even if Uludag were convicted, "he would not spend 90 days in prison." Yalcin said the period in detention could be seen "as the equivalent of a punishment issued prior to

Uludag was detained in February , accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , spreading misleading information and disparaging state institutions or the Turkish state in a total of 22 posts on social media. "Insulting" or disparaging Erdogan is a criminal offense in Turkey , and one that the longstanding Turkish leader has famously prosecuted on thousands of occasions during more than two decades in power. Uludag — who in Turkey's restrictive media landscape continued to focus on contentious issues like the judicial system, human rights violations and corruption — denied all the charges, saying he was objectively reporting. Uludag was denied a request to appear in court in person, instead appearing via video link, which he said was "a breach of my right to a fair defense." He said he had spent 90 days removed from his family and his workplace. "As an independent journalist I tried to write the truth and to defend the public's right to information. I was frequently threatened, but my conscience is clear. I have never done things as a journalist that I now have cause to regret. The freedom of press and opinion guaranteed by our constitution must not be infringed," he said. Uludag told the court that it seemed the Turkish justice system wanted to 'convict me out of the public eye' Image: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit/AP Photo/picture alliance "I have committed no crimes, rather I have only done my job; I have insulted nobody and I demand an acquittal," Uludag told the court. Uludag vows to continue fighting for press freedom After his release from detention, Uludag told DW that it was a bitter release because he was sad to be leaving some colleagues behind, including Merdan Yanardag. "Before I was released, I asked him if he had anything to say; here is his message: 'We will continue to resist for freedom and democracy,' he said. We will continue the fight for press freedom and the public’s right to information until all imprisoned journalists in Turkey are released," Uludag said.

Key points

• Uludag was detained in February , accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , spreading misleading information and disparaging state institutions or the Turkish state in a total of 22 pos…
• "Insulting" or disparaging Erdogan is a criminal offense in Turkey , and one that the longstanding Turkish leader has famously prosecuted on thousands of occasions during more than two decades in p…
• Uludag — who in Turkey's restrictive media landscape continued to focus on contentious issues like the judicial system, human rights violations and corruption — denied all the charges, saying he wa…
• Uludag was denied a request to appear in court in person, instead appearing via video link, which he said was "a breach of my right to a fair defense." He said he had spent 90 days removed from his…
• "As an independent journalist I tried to write the truth and to defend the public's right to information.