The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 17 other press freedom and human rights organizations in calling on Turkish authorities to release freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay, who has been in detention for over 100 days.

Following his arrest in May, he was indicted on September 5, 2025, on three charges, including “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for which he could face six to 15 years in jail.

“We consider Karabay’s imprisonment and the denial of due process for more than three months a disproportionate and punitive response to his journalism,” the signatories said. “Reporting and critical public commentary on government officials must never be criminalized. Equating news coverage and commentary with serious offenses like ‘targeting officials’ is a dangerous distortion.” 

Read the full statement here.