Turkish Journalist Fatih Altaylı Gets Over 4 Years for 'Threatening the President'

Fatih Altaylı

On November 26, the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court sentenced Fatih Altaylı, a well-known journalist in Turkey, to 4 years and 2 months in prison. He was charged with threatening the President of the Republic.

What Led to the Charge

The case started after Altaylı's comments on his YouTube channel on June 20. He mentioned historical events, stating, "This nation is a nation that strangled its sultan... Ottoman sultans who were killed, victims of conspiracy, or strangled."

Prosecutors, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the complaining party, created an indictment based on a section of the Turkish Penal Code about threats that imply physical assault against the President. This led the court to consider a minimum sentence of five years.

Altaylı's Side of the Story

Altaylı defended himself by saying that his words were not a serious threat to the President. "Why would the President fear me? I am not part of any organization, and I have not used violence," he said.

He added that President Erdoğan is strong, pointing out that he stood up and came to Istanbul during the July 15 coup attempt and didn't fear Mossad when arguing with Israel. Altaylı said the President is not easily scared and that the Presidential Protection Department confirmed that his comments did not change the President's schedule, which shows they were not taken seriously.

The Court's Decision and the Reaction

The court gave Altaylı a sentence of 4 years and 2 months (reduced from five years because of good conduct) and said he would remain in detention due to a flight risk. Altaylı has been detained for 158 days. He reacted to the decision by throwing his papers in the air as he left the courtroom.

Erinç Sağkan, the President of the Turkey Bar Association (TBB) and Altaylı's lawyer, strongly disagreed with the verdict. Sağkan said the most worrying part was the court treating comments made on a YouTube broadcast as a physical attack. Sağkan also criticized keeping Altaylı in detention because of a supposed flight risk, calling it an act of intimidation against the entire press and a tool of pressure on all dissenting voices.

The trial was held in a special courtroom to accommodate the large number of attendees, including journalists, writers, and members of parliament.