Journalist Oya Lale Arslan arrested in Turkey on suspicion of ‘spreading disinformation’

Istanbul, September 8, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release arrested journalist Oya Lale Arslan and stop weaponizing the law against independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. 

Arslan, a freelance journalist with over 118,000 followers on X and 151,000 on YouTube where she posts under the name Lale Özan Arslan, was detained on September 4 after police in Ankara searched her home and confiscated her digital devices. 

Arslan was questioned about her work by Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office before being arrested later that same day by a court pending trial on suspicion of “publicly spreading disinformation” and making propaganda for a terrorist organization. 

“Oya Lale Arslan is the latest journalist to be imprisoned in Turkey because of the authorities’ draconian interpretation of laws on disinformation and terrorism. This legislation is being used again and again to silence journalists,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Oya Lale Arslan must be released without delay and the authorities should immediately implement legal reforms to allow the news media to exercise their constitutional right to work freely.”

CPJ inspected the documents regarding Arslan’s testimony during her interrogation.

The journalist was questioned about her past YouTube broadcasts concerning the so-called FETÖ organization, a group linked to deceased Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen and which the Turkish government blames for a coup attempt in 2016. 

Arslan told interrogators she considers the said group to be a terrorist organization and would not make propaganda for them, according to the documents. 

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office released a statement on September 4, confirming the arrest and the allegations, which may become charges if the case goes to a trial. 

No trial date has been set yet.