15 May 2025
Journalist Furkan Karabay was arrested after being taken into custody over eight social media posts and a YouTube video. His detention was based on suspicions of “insulting the President” under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code and “targeting persons involved in counter-terrorism” under the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713.
14 July 2025
The second objection to the pre-trial detention of journalist Furkan Karabay was rejected. The İstanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ruled for the continuation of his detention on the grounds of “risk of flight”. Karabay has been held since 15 May on charges of “insulting the President” and “targeting individuals involved in the fight against terrorism”.
5 September 2025
An indictment against journalist Furkan Karabay requests his conviction on charges of “publicly insulting the President” (Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code), “repeatedly targeting officials engaged in counterterrorism” (Article 6/1 of the Anti-Terror Law), and “insulting a public official due to their duty” (Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code).
Karabay was detained on 15 May 2025 over his remarks on YouTube and posts on social media, and was arrested on the same day. The indictment, issued 114 days later by the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, seeks a prison sentence of between 6 and 15 years.
The indictment names President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Can Tuncay, Prosecutor Ahmet Şahin, and Judge Hatice Kozan as complainants.
Karabay had previously been arrested on 9 November 2024 over the same posts and released on 18 November 2024. He was also sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison in another trial filed upon complaints by President Erdoğan and his children.
02 December 2025
The first hearing of journalist Furkan Karabay was held on 2 December 2025 at the İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court, where he was tried for “insulting the President”, “insulting a public official due to their duty”, and “targeting individuals involved in the fight against terrorism”. The court sentenced Karabay to a total of 4 years and 3 months in prison. Taking into account the time he had already served, the court ruled for his release. On the same day, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office objected to the release on the grounds of “strong suspicion of crime” and referred the case to the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court for review.
