Turkish authorities must drop the charges brought against journalist Furkan Karabay alleging that he “insulted” the president and “made targets of” judicial officials, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Turkish authorities arrested freelance court reporter Karabay in mid-May. Karabay spent more than 100 days in pretrial detention before being indicted. A court date has yet to be set. The indictment includes three charges against the journalist: “making targets of those who were tasked to combat terrorism,” “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and “insulting” a public servant due to their duty.” He faces six to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

“The charges against Furkan Karabay were based on online news and commentary that can be considered harsh criticism at most — the journalist never insulted or placed a target on anyone,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Authorities must immediately drop the charges against Karabay and release him, a move that would symbolize a much-needed step toward improving Turkey’s press freedom record.”

President Erdoğan, two prosecutors, and a judge were listed as the injured parties in the seven-page indictment, which was reviewed by CPJ. The first two charges were based on news and commentary that Karabay shared on X and YouTube regarding the multiple ongoing investigations and trials of various members of the main opposition party CHP in Istanbul. The “insulting” a public servant charge stemmed from Karabay telling the judge who arrested him in May that the judge is not a member of the court but a member of a gang.

Karabay pleaded not guilty and said that he hadn’t insulted the president but instead had shared the president’s own quotes in his commentary, and that he hadn’t made any member of the court targets, according to the indictment.

This is the third time Karabay has been arrested in recent years.

CPJ and 17 other press freedom defenders released a joint statement asking for the release of Karabay on September 8, 2025.

CPJ’s email requesting comment from the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office did not receive a reply.