Istanbul police detain DW reporter for ‘misleading information,’ insulting Erdogan

Turkish authorities detain a veteran correspondent of German state-backed international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Ankara, accusing him of “disseminating misleading information” and “insulting the president.”

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office says in a statement it detained Alican Uludag and launched a criminal investigation based on some of his social media posts. He will be brought before prosecutors today.

Deutsche Welle, or DW, says the correspondent, who has been working for the broadcaster for several years, was arrested in Ankara and taken to Istanbul police late yesterday.

DW Director General Barbara Massing calls the accusations baseless and says the arrest was “a deliberate act of intimidation and shows how severely the government is suppressing press freedom.”

DW says the allegations against Uludag relate to his criticism of Turkish government measures that led to the release of suspected Islamic State group operatives in a post on social media platform X he made about a year and a half ago.

It adds that his apartment was searched and IT equipment was confiscated.