Journalist Altaylı under probe on charges of threatening president
ISTANBUL
Prominent journalist Fatih Altaylı has been detained after prosecutors launched an investigation into him over allegedly threatening remarks against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The probe was prompted by comments Altaylı made in a video published on his YouTube channel, which prosecutors claimed targeted Erdoğan and contained threatening language.
According to prosecutors, Altaylı was detained late on June 21 and referred to court on the afternoon of June 22 for a decision on whether he would be released or formally arrested.
Media reports said Altaylı denied the accusations during his statement to the prosecutor, asserting that he personally knows Erdoğan and that he did not expect that his words could be interpreted as a threat.
The journalist was the longtime host of the “Teke Tek” program on private TV channel Habertürk before parting ways with the network in 2023, after more than a decade.
He now writes opinion columns on a news website bearing his name and produces content for his YouTube channel.
Altaylı has been under another investigation since November 2024 on charges of “publicly spreading misleading information,” following an article.
