Reporter İsmail Arı imprisoned in Turkey for spreading ‘disinformation’

Istanbul, March 23, 2026—Turkish authorities must immediately release journalist İsmail Arı and stop misusing the disinformation law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. 

Arı, a reporter for the leftist daily BirGün, was taken into custody in the northern province of Tokat, where he was visiting family on March 21. He was taken to Ankara the next day and arrested by a court, pending trial on the suspicion of publicly spreading disinformation. Arı was questioned about his work by Ankara police for hours, BirGün reported.

A 2022 disinformation law 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.

“Rights defenders who expressed worries that the ‘false information’ law would be abused to silence journalism were told that journalists wouldn’t be prosecuted unless the reporting causes concern, fear, or panic,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Who is scared of İsmail Arı’s reporting? The authorities must release Arı without delay and put an end to the misuse of this law.” 

Arı released a message via his lawyers while he was in custody. He said his social media posts and videos are being used as evidence against him.

“My only crime is practicing journalism in this country,” he said. “Journalism is not a crime.”

Arı’s reporting on allegedly unlawful construction work at a cultural heritage location in Istanbul led to his arrest, according to BirGün. He is at Sincan Prison in Ankara awaiting trial. Turkish journalists arrested pending trial may spend months behind bars before an indictment is written and a court date is set, CPJ research has found. 

CPJ emailed Turkey’s justice ministry for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.