CPJ, partners call for release of Turkish journalist İsmail Arı

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight other local and international press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release daily BirGün reporter İsmail Arı, who was arrested pending trial last week.

Arı’s arrest was based on a 2022 disinformation law that introduced prison sentences of up to three years for spreading false information about security, public order, and the general health of the country that causes concern, fear, or panic.

“The fact that the investigation file is built around Arı’s journalistic output — his published reports, social media posts, and attendance at public events — makes clear that routine journalistic activity is being treated as criminal evidence,” the statement said. “Covering stories, speaking with sources and investigating matters of public interest are not criminal acts.”

Read the full statement in Turkish and English here.