A journalist from the BirGün newspaper, which is critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, has been detained on a charge of “spreading false information,” the left-wing outlet said.

İsmail Arı was detained on Saturday evening in the northern province of Tokat, where he was visiting family for the Eid holiday, before being taken to Ankara on Sunday morning for questioning, BirGün said.

“İsmail has never lied to the people,” BirGün said in a post on X.

The İstanbul-based newspaper, known for its investigations into the government, did not specify which of Arı’s articles led to the detention.

“We repeat: journalism is not a crime. İsmail Arı must be released immediately,” the Turkish Journalists’ Union said on X.

In late February, a Turkish journalist working for Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcaster was also arrested and detained on a charge of insulting the president, prompting Berlin to call for his immediate release.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index.

© Agence France-Presse