64 bar associations condemn Turkish journalist’s conviction as blow to free expression

28.11.2025

By SCF

Source:https://stockholmcf.org/64-bar-associations-condemn-turkish-journalists-conviction-as-blow-to-free-expression/

Sixty-four bar associations across Turkey have condemned the conviction of journalist Fatih Altaylı, calling his prison sentence “a severe blow to free expression” and warning that journalism cannot be criminalized.

The statement came after a court sentenced Altaylı to four years, two months in prison for allegedly “threatening” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in remarks he made about a public opinion poll suggesting that 70 percent of respondents oppose Erdoğan becoming president for life. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Altaylı had described the poll result as “not particularly surprising.” He was arrested on June 22, two days after his remarks.

Altaylı’s lawyer said they will appeal the ruling.

The bar associations said recent prosecutions and trials targeting opposition politicians, elected mayors and government critics have deepened concerns about the politicization of the judiciary.

“In a democratic state governed by the rule of law, judicial decisions cannot lack a legal basis, nor can fundamental rights and freedoms be restricted arbitrarily,” the bar associations said.

The statement also stressed that journalists’ political criticism and commentary are protected under the case law of the European Court of Human Rights as well as Turkey’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeals.

According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 27 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.