Istanbul, October 12, 2026—Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on independent media is continuing at an alarming pace with four more journalists arrested and placed under house arrest over the weekend on suspicion of
publicly spreading disinformation
, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.
On October 9, Turkish police questioned Mustafa Balcı and İsmail Saymaz from the independent Sözcü media outlet, freelancer Şaban Sevinç, and Murat Ağırel, who works for the independent Cumhuriyet and Onlar news outlets, about their reporting on a recent
investment fund scandal
.
Mustafa Balcı (left) (Screenshot: Sözcü Televizyonu/YouTube) and Şaban Sevinç (Screenshot: Şaban Sevinç/YouTube)
Later that same day, an Istanbul court
arrested
Balcı and Sevinç on suspicion of “publicly spreading disinformation.” Saymaz and Ağırel, who were released after questioning on October 9 under judicial control – meaning a foreign travel ban and regular check-ins with the police – were
placed under house arrest
on October 10 after the prosecution lodged an objection to their releases.
“By arresting Mustafa Balcı and Şaban Sevinç and placing İsmail Saymaz and Murat Ağırel under house arrest on suspicion of publicly spreading disinformation, Turkey continues to erode press freedom at an alarming rate. We are reaching a crisis point with at least 22 journalists arrested or detained under the disinformation law this year alone,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “All of the journalists who were either imprisoned or placed under house arrest must be immediately freed and Turkey’s disinformation law should be abolished without delay.”
At the time of publishing, CPJ could not determine what content produced by
Balcı and Sevinç
formed the basis of their arrests. After he was summoned by the police to testify, Balcı said in
a post on X
that he believed he was going to be questioned about his reporting on the investment fund scandal.
İsmail Saymaz (left) and Murat
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